Update Blog - 6/19/21 (Patreon)

This has got to be one of the biggest weeks for my work this year. I've changed plans for my podcast, I released 2 reviews and I have both finished and started some major upcoming projects. I can see what's ahead with the next videos and I think we got some exciting things coming ;) So with that said, here's my big week with an equally big blog.

- Released my review of Xiaolin Showdown: I've honestly never seen the show before, even back when I was watching Kids WB for stuff like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Of course, I was a bit familiar because of some friends who were fans of the series and the commercials where Omi pops up form time to time, but that's it. Now that I got the experience of now seeing the episodes all together, I can see the appeal of it. Granted, not a great show with some problems, but most of them are minor and I have found myself getting invested in the episodes and all the adventures to find the Shen Gon Wu. I'm not use to watching a lot of hours of content for the sake of just one review, but it was still an experience and I'm happy with the way the review itself came out. I did admittedly add it some elements to grab people's attention with the Avatar angle, but from seeing the show and the big influence the Nick series has now, it's hard to not look at the familiarities. Then again, like Raya, it's a case where it kind of helps the series than hinder it. Overall, glad that not I'll be able to talk to my friends about this and know what I'm talking about.

- Released my review of Wish Dragon: Ironically, after talking about how comparisons are not rip-offs, here's a movie that has a problem of too much copying. I'll hand it to the movie that it's not bad. It has fun animation and I do admire the heart of the picture and how that was handled well. Other than that...there's just nothing going for it, especially when it mostly copies so much from Disney's Aladdin. The good points will save it during the experience of watching the movie where you can get some enjoyment, but in the long run, people won't care about this and just stick to Aladdin because it's the same, but better in every way. I've seen this take often and I am on the side of them. By Sony Animation's standards, it's definitely not in the levels of horrible like The Emoji Movie or Cloudy 2, but still quite a downgrade from The Mitchells vs. The Machines. Again, not bad, but no way that this will replace Aladdin for me. Ah well, I'm sure they'll pick up with Vivo.

- Changing the schedule for AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: This was honestly a big decision for me. After 3 years of doing the podcast, I decided to change up the schedule where now I'll be livestreaming them on Mondays at 4pm EST. Long story short, it was a decision to free up my weekends to make myself more available for my family and friends. When you grow older, you realize how important weekends are for your own well-being, and since my burnout, I've been looking for ways to improve my own life to make myself more happy. Come to think of it, I was a little more busy with the podcast this week with not just that schedule change, but also with doing a bonus episode reviewing all the announcements of E3 (or explain why Nintendo was the only one with the good presentation). It might take time for me to adjust, but I'm hoping this will be good for me in the long run. 

- Recording & Editing the next History video: This week, I put out a poll on YouTube to see what subjects people would be interested in for the next Editorial/History video. At the last minute, I added the one that I was currently working on. While there was one that got more than half the votes, the one I was working on did get a solid 2nd place, so I was relieved that the work I already put on it was not to waste. This was the biggest project I did this week and after both filming and doing the editing to put it all together, I'm honestly quite happy with how this turned out. I had this on hold for a while because of other reviews I had to take care of, but now seeing it in completion, this turned out to be a really nice piece and made the whole experience worthwhile. However, considering that this is the 2nd place History video, I do wonder if I can have the time to make that 1st place one and have that ready for next month...It will be tricky to pull it off in time with all the other reviews I have to do at the same time, but with a backup plan in place for the worst case, I'm up for the challenge.

- Starting to watch episodes for the next Series Review: Now with a few videos done and finished Xiaolin Showdown, it's time for the next big series for me to review. I've only started watching the first few episodes and I'll say now that this is about as big as Xiaolin Showdown. I've had some friends who kept asking me to watch this and that there have been some amazing moments in there, but maybe this is a calling for me to catch up and see what the big fuss is with this one. I'll need around a few weeks to get through this one, but let's see if the hype can be met here.

- Currently working on my review of Luca: This is it, the final film in the consecutive set of new releases I have to review. Among all of them, this is the one that I am the most excited for. And yes, a big part of it is because it's Pixar. From the early reviews, I've heard a situation that's a bit complicated. Some say it's not another masterpiece in the levels of Soul, but it's still a really good film. From the sound it, sounds like a case of Brave and Onward where it's not Pixar good, but they are still good animated films. Either way, I'll be looking forward to this one. I mean, I'm sure this will be a step up to the bland horse movie and the Chinese Aladdin clone, right?

So that was my major week. As you can see, there's a lot that I have to prepare, but I'm definitely ready for the task. Lots of exciting things to come, folks. And you won't have to wait too long to see what I've got in store! So, until next time...

See ya later, dudes!