RJ Writing Ink

One Piece Chapter 928 Review/Recap

I said in my last recap that I was reserving judgment on Komurasaki until we knew more about her. So far, that seems to have been the right call, considering how this chapter reveals more about her. First, though, let’s go back to Luffy and Kid.

Recap

As I predicted, Luffy and Kid have become the heroes of Udon Prison for getting so much work done and beating up that hippo man. It also helps that Luffy is just giving away his extra meal tickets. Meanwhile, Raizo has managed to infiltrate Udon Prison and said he found the keys to Luffy’s seastone handcuffs, but it will take time to get them. Luffy and Kid’s escape is imminent, and when they get out of there, my gut tells me that the other prisoners will follow them.

Speaking of which, remember Caribou? He tries to join up with Luffy in order to get out, but I think Luffy remembers the trouble he gave the Straw Hats on Fishman Island.

Back in the Flower Capital, the Courtesan’s procession continues as some of the Straw Hats watch. It gets interrupted, though, by a trio of cutthroats looking to kill Komurasaki. Now, for a flashback that seemingly reveals Komurasaki’s true nature.

Komurasaki’s True Nature?

Komurasaki may act nice and sweet, but in truth, she is very manipulative and materialistic. She used her beauty and the promise of love to convince the leader of the cutthroats to give away everything he has to buy the money to free her from being a courtesan. And I mean everything, from his house to his family. Surprise, surprise, she was just playing him for a chump. She took all the money and spent it on herself.

Back in the present, the three cutthroats get beaten up by the guards, and then get thrown out of the Flower Capital as the woman tells them that she sees men without money as dogs. It then interestingly cuts to Tama’s village where Momonosuke is hiding and training. He then reveals then he actually has a younger sister named Hiyori who was left behind when their mom sent him and the three retainers into the future. He has a gut feeling that she’s still alive, but he does not want to look for her until Wano is free from Orochi and Kaido.

Couple things: first, as far as looks go, I don’t think Komurasaki is the most beautiful woman we’ve seen in One Piece. Boa Hancock, Shirahoshi, and Nami are all cuter than she is. Plus, if this is her real personality, then as far as I care, she’s a hag. But, and hear me out on this, what if that’s just an act?

A Hard Life

The life of a courtesan would have been hard, so a woman would have to do what she could to survive. That means using their charm and beauty to the fullest extent, even if it meant suckering people. That doesn’t justify what she does, though, but I have another reason. The transition to Momonosuke and him telling Tama about Hiyori may have been a coincidence, but my inner fan is already working out theories. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong. My theory right now: Komurasaki is connected to Hiyori somehow. But it’s just that at the moment: a theory. It’s up to Oda to decide where this all goes.

So far, Act Two of the Wano Arc is progressing slowly, like a season of Game of Thrones. All the players and pieces are moving around on the board and getting ready to make their move. The Alliance will be up against the wall when the time comes, so it needs all the help it can get, but I am not overly worried. After all, this is Luffy we’re talking about. Regardless, this is going to be the biggest arc in One Piece yet, and it’s going to get even bigger. Oda said that the final arc of the manga is going to make Marineford look like child’s play in comparison. I can’t wait!

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We open on a lone factory in the middle of a frozen landscape. Suddenly, an explosion rips the facility. A lone man, with a mysterious box in his arms, flees the building towards the hangar nearby. After shooting off the lock, he runs past the airplanes and jumps into a familiar sled pulled by nine reindeer. He cracks the whip, and the takes off into the sky above the North Pole.

He is not alone for long. Another man, with a long white beard and riding a hoverboard, catches up to him. A struggle ensues, with the bearded man seizing the box and jumping to the surface below. The thief then pulls out a pistol and fires three shots into his pursuer. As the man loses consciousness and falls towards earth, the thief says one final line “Merry Christmas, Santa Claus”. Thus begins one of my all-time favorite Christmas Specials.

The Christmas Special

I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again: I loved Regular Show. I discovered it at a time in my life when I had started to think I had outgrown cartoons. Most of the cartoons I grew up watching had ended or were no longer interesting to me. The beauty of Regular Show, though, was it’s ability to appeal to all ages. For a children’s show, that is an impressive feat. They did a lot of holiday specials throughout their run, but I think their first Christmas Special was the best.

In the Park, the entire gang is throwing a Christmas party and having a blast. Muscle Man is binging on cookies, Benson is flirting with his neighbor Audrey, and Mordecai and Rigby are throwing down some sick raps for the holidays.

They step away from the party to get Benson some more soda, only to see the man from before falling from the sky into Skips’ garage. If it wasn’t obvious before, that man is Santa Claus. His reaction to being found by Mordecai and Rigby: “Aw, man. You two?”

I liked the version of Santa that Regular Show gave us, especially since he barely resembled depictions of him in pop culture. He cares about people, but he can be grumpy and sarcastic. That is thanks to him once again being voice by Edward Asner. This had to have been the third time I had seen him play Santa, so I have a bias, but it’s earned. He brings a sense of realism to the role of Santa. Take the way he proves to Mordecai and Rigby that he’s Santa by telling them what they wanted for Christmas as kids:

Dear Santa, dude, give me an invisibility cloak. Santa, dude, don’t be a jerk. Just get me an invisibly cloak.

Priceless.

Lord of the Box

Anyway, the reason why he got shot and fell from the sky is that the box is like the One-Ring from Lord of the Rings. Santa’s lead toy designer, Quillgin, invented a box that would magically give whoever opens it what they want most. To Santa’s horror, though, anyone who opened the box would be consumed by greed. That ’s the risks of using dark magic, though.

Santa locked the box away and destroyed all of Quillgin’s research, leading him to vow revenge, hence the opening. If he gets his hands on the box, he’ll use it to destroy Christmas forever!

Fellowship of the Box

From here on out, the special is a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books: the Park Gang becomes the Fellowship of the Box. The box is the One-Ring that corrupts people. And Quillgin is either Gollum or a minion of Sauron.  As Skips notes, though, the box’s dark magic components prevent it from being destroyed by conventional means. The only solution is to cast it into molten lava. As luck would have it, the rival East Pines park has a cave with lava in it, but it’s guarded by several traps.

At this point, tvtropes.org says it becomes a partial tribute to the classic 80’s film The Goonies. I can see that with all the booby traps, though I actually thought it bore similarity to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Both movies had to deal with dangerous trials that needed to be overcome, after all. From a deadly dance off to wrestling a bear, this is an epic adventure.

The best part, though, is the climax as Quillgin confronts the Park Gang at the lava pit. Quillgin gets his hands of the box and begins to bring about the destruction of Christmas. We are then given a montage of Christmas stuff around the world being lace with TNT to the ominous sound of “Carol of the Bells”. Normally a song that brings joy, this moment subverts it by highlighting how dire the situation is.

Then Mordecai tackles Quillgin and sends both of them into the lava pit, with Rigby following, as the music transitions to “Sarajevo 12/24” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The music is perfectly in sync with the action, with that epic guitar solo timed just as Quillgin and the box fall into the lava. Just like Lord of the Rings.

Not Your Normal Christmas Special

This was not a normal Christmas special by any stretch. But Regular Show is not a normal cartoon. It thrives on the use of pop culture and surrealism, and that’s what made it so entertaining to watch during its run. This wasn’t even the craziest thing Mordecai and Rigby had done by then. They had already fought demon spawn of the underworld, traveled through time, and gone to the moon. So saving Christmas was nothing out of the ordinary!

This was an unexpected but greatly welcomed present for me when I first saw it. Speaking of presents, Mordecai and Rigby got the invisibility cloak they had wanted as kids! Best gift ever! And, as all good Christmas specials do, it ends with Santa going “HO HO HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Then his sleigh leaves behind rubber burns like in Back to the Future. What a way to end a special, J.G. Quintel!

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Christmas in Space

It’s time for another Regular Show Christmas Special. The final special, to be exact. In late 2016, Regular Show was wrapping up its 8th and final season, leading to its hour long finale in January 2017. That is a story for another day, though. The Holidays were a big part of Regular Show, and I grew to look forward to their holiday specials every year. The Halloween specials were the main ones, but they also had several Christmas episodes to go with it. So, for the final Christmas special, I guess they just decided to combine both into one. So we got CHRISTMAS IN SPACE!

Instead of a single storyline, this special followed the anthology format of the Halloween episodes, something every one noticed. Even Benson calls the group out about it at one point. Although, they were in space by that point. So, let’s look at each story as I give my two cents.

Planet Celsius

In this first story told by Skips, the Park Gang travels to the Planet Celsius so they can have a white Christmas. There’s just one rule: they can only stay while there’s sunlight, because afterwards, snow monsters will come and attack them. There’s also only sunlight for five minutes.

So, the gang has a good romp in the snow, playing with the natives, and exchanging Christmas gifts in five minutes. Then Muscle Man takes too long to do his family’s annual ski run, and they get caught outside in the dark. And the natives turn into snow monsters.

Right away, I felt this plot was similar to the movie Gremlins with the Celsians turning into monsters after dark seeming very familiar. Then again, I never actually watched the movie, so I could be wrong. I do know what thing that was a direct parody, though: Ludlow the Laser-Nosed Reindeer. He’s a poorly animated knock-off of Rudolph that comes down and saves everyone with his laser nose, then just floats away like a stiff board. I don’t know what the meaning behind that was. Christmas in Space, so why not?

Annoying Rock Caroler

Next is Benson’s story, where the Park gets visited by this strange, rock caroler. That is, someone who sings Christmas carols in rock form. In this case, he does The Twelve Days of Christmas. All twelve verses. And the gifts just appear and start attacking the Park Gang.

The Twelve Days of Christmas was not one of my favorite Christmas songs growing up, mainly because I never remember the lyrics after the fifth verse. I liked this story though because it made me realize something I never noticed: there are a lot of birds as gifts in that song! The first third of the song was just birds. Eventually, the gang gets rid of the caroler by giving him cookies, and then he explodes into snow. Because, why not?

Theoretical Mall

In Mordecai and Rigby’s story, they forget to get Pops his present for Christmas, so they have to go to the one mall in the universe that is open… theoretically.

This story is a homage to the classic show The Twilight Zone from start to finish. It even has the door in space and everything. Mordecai and Rigby have to travel to the fifth floor/fifth dimension of the mall to get their gift. As it turns out, the fifth dimension lets them see every possible choice they make. In Rigby terms, every time they get distracted, clones of the two are made that wander off. Soon, it’s a race to the elevator before the mall closes and implodes on them.

This story wasn’t that big on the Christmas theme, but this is the kind of surreal adventures that made me fall in love with Regular Show in the first place. Plus, the ending is classic Twilight Zone.

Krampus

Fed up with everyone’s stories, Benson decides to tell one of his own. In this one, Rigby disobeys Benson one too many times, so he calls Krampus the Christmas Demon to punish him for it. It was meant to be a joke, but it turns out that Krampus is real and actually comes for Rigby. Thus the Park Gang is forced into a battle against the anti-Santa.

This is the kind of story that can fit in both Halloween or Christmas: it’s both scary and keeps with the tradition of Christmas. Even Mordecai and Rigby admit that it’s a good story. Until Benson ruins it by having Krampus defeated by handbells. Benson has been trying to get the gang into handbells all episode, and this was a lame way to do it.

Someone does come along who appreciates Benson’s love of handbells though: Space Santa! Handbells and Christmas Carols for everyone as the episode ends! Christmas in Space!

So that’s basically it. Personally, my favorite Christmas episode of Regular Show was the original, but I want to save that for later. I still miss Regular Show, and I hope that it’s just the start to a bright career for creator J.G. Quintel. I still liked Christmas in Space, though. Now if only TBS would air his new show already.

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I would like to thank cakedablerd from Pop Culture Uncovered for giving me the idea to watch this. Go check out her original post. I have never been one for work by Sanrio, but Aggretsuko might be an exception, especially since the main character is the opposite of Hello Kitty. Retsuko is a 25-year-old accountant in some random company… and she hates every minute of it. A lot of her co-workers are annoying, her boss is a jerk, and she just wants out. A lot of people can relate. Most of her co-workers don’t know, but she channels her anger by singing death metal karaoke.

So, I spent a whole day binge watching the first season, because the Christmas Special came out today: We Wish You A Metal Christmas.

We Wish You A Metal Christmas

If you remember my posts about the Fairy Tail and Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Christmas Specials, you may remember that I said Christmas is more about romance in Japan. That, and eating KFC, but that’s beside the point. It’s Christmas Eve, and everyone is making plans for the holiday. Everyone except for Retsuko. She’s been too busy trying to get Instagram likes to make plans, and then her jerk-boss, Ton the pig, gives her extra work. Because he’s a jerk.

Meanwhile, Retsuko’s friends, Haida and Fenneko are out drinking. Haida has had a crush on Retsuko, but she turned him down, and he still hasn’t gotten over it. So he’s getting wasted to get over the pain. Especially since he thinks Retsuko has plans.

Fortunately for him, Fenneko’s social media detective skills help her realize that something’s up with Retsuko’s Instagram posts and that she doesn’t have anything to do for Christmas Eve. So Haida tries to rush over and help her, only to find out she already left. Love is never easy.

Luck is on Haida’s side, though, as he happens to run into her as she’s out with some of her friends, and they end up getting some time together. It’s a cute way to end the episode, but the clincher is the heavy metal version of “Jingle Bells”. I never knew how badly I needed that.

Retsuko Is an Exception

As I said before, Sanrio is normally not my cup of eggnog, but I’m glad I tried this show out. It’s got enough of anime in it to keep me interested, while the premise is relatable enough for non-anime fans to get into it. What makes this enjoyable, though, is that it serves as a reminder of how no one should be alone for the holidays. Yet many people out there are. They don’t have any family or friends nearby, so the holidays can be a sad and lonely experience. But when you have people you care about with you, they become a lot brighter.

I also find this to be an interesting commentary on how some in our generation go out of their way to look amazing on social media to make up for the fact that they don’t like where they are right now. While stuck at work, Retsuko even fakes a fancy dinner photo just get people’s approval.

My advice: social media is fun, but it doesn’t beat having physical friends to hang out with. But I don’t want to preach, so instead, I’ll wish you a Merry Christmas!

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I thought that I had seen a lot of good Christmas movies, and maybe some bad Christmas movies. But when I saw that Netflix had a new Christmas movie, I had no idea what to think. So I got on my laptop, put on Netflix and put on The Christmas Chronicles to see the funniest Santa yet.

The Christmas Chronicles

It’s about this family, the Pierces in Massachusetts. They have loved Christmas as much as any family could, especially the dad. But when their Dad, a firefighter, dies while rescuing some people, the kids, Teddy and Kate, start to drift apart from each other.

Come Christmas Eve 2018, Mrs. Pierce has to cover for a coworker, forcing Teddy and Kate to be home alone for Christmas. When Kate thinks she sees Santa on a recording of last year’s Christmas, she does what any kid would do: stay up and try to see Santa. I tried doing it as a kid, and I know plenty of other people did.

Not only do Kate and Teddy see Santa, though, but they also manage to sneak aboard his sleigh. Then they cause it to crash, the sack to fly off, and the Reindeer to scatter in Chicago. What’s worse, without any of these things, Santa can’t do his job. And when he can’t do his job, bad things happen. As Santa, puts it, the Dark Ages and all the rotten stuff that came with it. So it’s up to Teddy and Kate to help Santa save Christmas while also conveniently restoring their bond as siblings.

One of My Top 5 Santas

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the movie’s version of Santa, played by Kurt Russell. I loved Kurt Russell as Santa. Unlike the way he’s normally portrayed in pop culture, this Santa is of reasonable weight and is a wise-cracking, savvy toy-maker. It’s hard to describe, but if I had to explain it, I’d say that Kurt Russell makes Santa seem more… human. As in he’s not always so jolly. He can be sarcastic, energetic, happy, charismatic. He’s very charismatic. At one point in the film, when he lands in jail (don’t ask), he leads the inmates in a jazz rendition of “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”. It’s amazing! He does refuse to go “ho ho ho”, though, because he says that’s a myth. Apparently along with him being fat. In short, I love Kurt Russell as Santa.

And the elves! They are like the Gremlins crossed with the Minions from Despicable Me. They are cute, they are mischievous, and you will either love them or hate them.

The Kids

Lastly, we have the kids, Teddy and Kate Pierce. At the start, it was shown that they both have some problems. More like Teddy has problems. Ever since his dad died, he’s been falling in with the wrong crowd. Kate follows him at one point early on in the film, and sees him steal a car with some other teenagers! The worst part is that that is never actually resolved. His night before Christmas experience sets him back on the right path, but he never actually tells his mom of what he did or makes any amends for it. That seems like lazy writing.

I’d talk more about what happens, but I don’t want to spoil the ending. I liked this movie, and if you have Netflix, I urge you to watch it. It’s a pretty good Christmas movie with a new spin on Santa. Kurt Russell became my second favorite Santa of all time after watching this. The first is Ed Asner. Happy holidays!

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Just because I am a grown-up does not mean I have to stop loving cartoons, especially when said cartoons are excellent. Over the last few years, Cartoon Network has been on a roll, making shows that have appealed to both child and adult demographics. First, there was Adventure Time, then Regular Show, and we have Steven Universe. Rebecca Sugar’s creation is one of the best shows on Cartoon Network right now, and with next batch of episodes coming out, I thought it’d be appropriate to look at the Steven Universe Christmas episode.

It’s not blatantly stated to be a Christmas episode, but watch it and tell me if it doesn’t remind you of anything Christmas related. So, here it is, Three Gems and a Baby.

Baby Steven Universe

As Beach City is being covered by a blizzard, Greg Universe and the Crystal Gems tell Steven the story of his first winter with Steven. 

In flashback, Greg is shown taking care of baby Steven whilestaying at a friend’s house in the middle of a blizzard. He does a good job atit, as well, though he gets a little confused about Steven’s need to expose his gem.

Now, when I first saw this episode, I started to get some serious baby Jesus vibes from it, whether intentional or not. First, Steven was not a normal baby. He was born through very unconventional means. Unlike Jesus, though, Steven is the son of a human and an alien. 

The comparisons don’t stop, as the Gems show up bearing gifts for the newborn Steven. Sound familiar? Well, the Gems gifts are mostly impractical. Why would a baby need a razor, after all? 

Everything changes when Steven’s gem starts glowing. The Gems are convinced it’s Rose trying to talk to them, and while Greg tries to figure out what’s going on, the Gems basically… kidnap Steven. Along with Greg’s van.

Steven Goes for a Ride

It was funny to watch the Gems try and figure out what Steven was, only to fail and make him upset. Even though Pearl thinks she can bring back Rose by removing Steven’s gem, she can’t do it. Reluctantly, the Gems have to face the fact that Rose may be gone for good, and that they need to focus on Steven now.

Then Greg shows up being chased by a dog and they make up. Back in the present, Steven can’t help but point out how the Gems were wrong about growing and changing is not natural for them, as they have all changed for the better.

Steven Universe=Gem Jesus

In hindsight, it is easy to see the comparisons between the story of baby Jesus and Steven. Considering everything that has happened with Steven, and the revelation that his mom was actually PINK DIAMOND, I can’t help but wonder if this was intentional.

Think about it: Steven is a special boy, born from a human father and a Gem mother. He has all the abilities of both Gems and Humans, and he has spent his entire life trying to help others, even if they were once his enemies. After he learns the truth about his mom, he tries to make peace with the other Diamonds. With the remainder of the “Diamond Days” coming up, I keep coming back to this episode and the comparisons. One thing keeps crossing my mind: does Rebecca Sugar mean for Steven to become a sort of savior or uniter of the Gems?

Steven Universe is part Gem, and a Diamond, one of the leaders, at that. Maybe he is meant to bring about a significant change in Gem society. This is just me speculating, but with recent events, I knew I had to re-watch this episode. It’s not just a Christmas episode, it may be a direct hint by the show’s writers about what Steven’s destiny may be. Or not. I don’t mind being wrong.

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Plenty of people know about who the Muppets are. They are those lovable puppets that were pioneered by Jim and Jane Henson and continue to entertain kids today. When I say “Muppets” here, I am using it to refer to the casts from the shows that Jim Henson was involved in or created:

• The Muppets Show
• Sesame Street
• Fraggle Rock

 You may or may not know this, but there was actually a special where the casts of all three of these shows met each other. As luck would have it, it aired on ABC forty-one years ago tonight, and it’s what I watched today: A Muppet Family Christmas. 

A Muppet Family Christmas

The special starts off with most of the cast of  The Muppet Show heading up to Fozzie’s mom’s farmhouse for Christmas. Bad timing, though, as Mrs. Grizzly plans to go to Malibu for Christmas and rented the house out to two characters from Fraggle Rock, Doc and his dog Sprocket. So much for a quiet Christmas.

There is no real plot to this episode. It’s more like several smaller plots as everyone tries to enjoy the Holidays. Here’s the gist of it.

Miss Piggy had to stay behind to finish some things and shopping, but she gets stuck in a snowstorm. More on that later.

Fozzie befriends a snowman that comes to life after building him. They try to start a comedy duo, but Statler and Waldorf put a stop to that.

The cast of Sesame Street show up caroling and stick around for Christmas!

Swedish Chef invites a Turkey to have for dinner, but after seeing Big Bird, he tries to cook him instead. A kind gift from Big Bird makes him change his mind, though.

Muppets Meets Fraggles

While Doc goes out to look for Miss Piggy, Kermit and Robin find a portal to Fraggle Rock in the basement. In a historic meeting, they come across the Fraggles and join them in a song about the fun of giving gifts. 

Soon as Kermit and Robin leave Fraggle Rock, Miss Piggy and Doc show up in costume. Miss Piggy’s wearing a new white dress, Doc’s in a soldier uniform, and they’re driving a dog sled. Muppet logic.

That’s basically the main plot of the special, as the remainder is about the cast singing Christmas carols. The Fraggles show up to listen to the music, Doc comes back in dressed in Santa, and there is even a surprise cameo by the creator of the Muppets, Jim Henson himself, god rest his soul.

In Review

That’s basically  A Muppet Family Christmas. It’s the ultimate Muppet crossover, as it includes most of the cast of three of the shows that Jim Henson worked on. It’s the kind of thing that Jim Henson fans would go get giddy over. It may not have an actual plot, but I don’t think it really needs one. This special does a good job as it is, and I enjoyed it and the nostalgia it gives me (I loved Sesame Street as a kid, but wasn’t born when the other two shows were on). 

If you’re wondering why you may not have heard about this special, that’s because it never got a release on DVD and Blu-Ray, so only those who saw it as kids or know about Muppet history will know about it. Thank goodness I found it on YouTube. You’re welcome to enjoy it through the video link. Have a nice night, and Merry Christmas!

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Earlier in the month, I did a writing about a Dragon Ball Z Abridged Christmas Special: The Christmas Tree of Might. Last year, Team Four Star produced a follow up: The Plan to Eradicate Christmas. I was browsing through the internet, and I thought it would be fun to watch this again. 

Like Christmas Tree of Might, this is not really a Christmas Special. This is actually based on an OVA that came with the game Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2. Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans was about a supercomputer made by a species the Saiyans wiped out trying to get revenge for it’s deceased creators. That is disregarded in this special.

Evil Santa

In keeping with the Christmas theme, this special sees the Earth being threatened by a giant cloud of coal dust and naughtiness, and the ghost’s of Christmas Villains past. You know how this song and dance goes. Fight, Goku and allies first lose, they rally and win. 

What I liked about this special is that it once again shows how creative Team Four Star is able to get with their work. They took an OVA that had nothing to do with Christmas and make it into a holiday special. They even added Santa Claus into it.

Everyone is Naughty! Except Gohan!

Speaking of Santa, he’s the one behind this mess. Team Four Star must have taken a page from the evil robot Santa from Futurama, because this Santa has deemed everyone on Earth naughty. And the Saiyans and Piccolo are at the top. Piccolo for him and his dad trying to take over the world, Trunks for the time travel thing, and Vegeta. Dear god, where do we begin? But Goku is the worst because he’s put the universe at risk. And as if to prove a point, Team Four Star puts up an ad to the watch the Tournament of Power arc on Crunchyroll. Gohan is the only one who’s on the nice list.

So, Santa has clearly gone evil, which means the group has to waste him. To the tune of “Carol of the Bells”, which was one of the best things I’ve ever seen.

So, Santa is dead, but the point the group is about more than just Santa. I know that’s been said time and again, but we still need to hear every now and then. After that, everyone goes home to Goku’s home for Christmas dinner. Even Vegeta, and he hates everyone. Christmas miracle.

So, that was a traditional Saiyan Christmas, I guess. It was, it was weird. I wonder if Team Four Star would do another Hellsing Christmas Special? I got to go find out! Or maybe they’ll done another Dragon Ball Z Abridged Special for Christmas!

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Ahh, Batman: The Animated Series, one of the greatest cartoons of all time. This show spawned a successful shared universe long before the MCU was a thought, and it gave my generation its definitive Batman and Joker: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.

Sadly, I was too young to watch this it as a kid. I wasn’t even born yet when the Christmas episode came out.

Christmas With the Joker

That’s right, I watched Christmas with the Joker for today’s special. Of course, how can we not talk about the episode without it’s a most important moment? The moment where the world got the voice that would be synonymous with The Joker to this very day?

Animation history was just made, people. I am only sorry I was not here to see it myself.

At any rate, Joker decides to spend the holiday with his family. Since he doesn’t have one, though, he decides to mess with Batman and Robin’s Christmas by kidnapping their friends: Commissioner Gordon, Summer Gleeson, and Harvey Bullock.

So the hunt is on for the Joker before he kills the police officers, but Joker has plenty of distractions in store. He blows up a bridge to derail a train, turns the observatory on Mount Gotham into a cannon, and then sics an army of toys on the duo. The last one happens to the tune of the Nutcracker Suite.

The episode is not particularly memorable in the grand scheme of things, as we know Batman and Robin will stop the Joker like always. Still, I like this episode because one, it’s Christmas, and two, it was the start of Mark Hamill’s legendary tenure as the Joker. After the original Star Wars trilogy ended, I don’t think he got that many big roles, but I could be wrong. The Joker ended being one of his best performances, though, and it gave him a new career as a voice actor. For that reason alone, I think this episode deserves to be remembered.

Batman eventually takes down the Joker, the cops are saved, and Batman, Robin, and Alfred spend Christmas watching a recording of It’s a Wonderful Life. Personally, I think Joker did all this because he just wanted to spend Christmas with Batman. That idea reeks of crazy logic, but I think it makes sense considering how obsessed Joker is with Batman. Then again, I could be wrong. MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Oh, yeah I forgot: I met Kevin Conroy at NYCC one year, and he is super nice. 

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Hey, it’s me. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry again for missing out on last night. My bad! Let’s put that behind us and talk about the Christmas Episode I watched today: Merry Christmas Mordecai, from Regular Show.

This premiered alongside The White Elephant Gift Exchange, but I’m doing them separate for a reason: I like White Elephant more. To be honest, I was dreading this episode.

Margaret had left for college at the end of Season 4, leaving Mordecai heartbroken. Then he ended up bumping into CJ at that New Year’s party, they started hanging out, and then they started dating. Even though I did like seeing them dating (and Real Date is one of my favorite episodes of the show), I was against it at first. The reason was because, in the back of my mind, I knew that Margaret might come back. When and if that happened, this was going to lead to an awkward love triangle. Lo and behold, I WAS RIGHT! 

The entire special revolves around Mordecai wigging out, or as Rigby calls “pulling a Mordecai” and trying to keep things from getting awkward. Thankfully, CJ was perfectly understanding about Mordecai’s plight and shook it off. After that, everything seemed like it was going to work out. That is, until Mordecai and Margaret get caught up in their good memories and kiss each other!

Then, because the plot demands it, CJ inconveniently comes in and sees them kissing, and runs off before Mordecai can explain or apologize. In other words, my worst fear came true. Then it got worse. Margaret is now Eileen’s new roommate. From here on out, things were going to get awkward.

If you watched the show in its entirety, you know that CJ was never able to truly get over her jealousy of Margaret, which led to her and Mordecai’s eventual break-up. Considering how CJ is no longer a main character after Season 6, I consider this to be a huge waste. At the same time, I have to acknowledge how this special ends up being a huge milestone in the show’s plot. It may be my least favorite of the Regular Show Christmas Specials, but it’s still good. After all, it’s Regular Show.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts!