RJ Writing Ink

When we last left off in Edens Zero, the gang met with the all-knowing, fourth wall breaking fortuneteller Xiaomei to find Homura’s mentor, Valkyrie. Xiaomei’s happy to tell them where she is, but first they have to fight through her champions.

She has a fighting fetish. Shiki makes short work of the first guy, but now the rest of the crew has to step up.

Recap

After Xiaomei gets down from her high, she tells the heroes that they have three more people to fight. To make things fair, she’s making each of them fight, one on one, anything goes aside from killing.

First up is everybody’s favorite blonde B-Cuber, Rebecca, and her best friend Happy! Against the Space SBA champ and B-Cuber Flanker Yotch!

It’s a gunslinging showdown as Yotch uses special bullets that spew… clothes eating slime?

Big mistake on his part, because Rebecca beats the snot out of him.

Next up is Weisz against Highway Yana, who reminds me a little of Dyspo from Dragon Ball Super. Weisz uses Pino’s EMP to shut down his speed, then curb stomps the poor guy. Another one bites the dust.

Yet Xiaomei gets even more excited, because she knows what’s coming in the final round. For the Edens Zero, Homura steps up to fight. To her shock, though, she sees her opponent is a duplicate of her teacher, Valkyrie of the Demon King’s Starshines!

Review

I would have preferred it if Mashima had decided to draw out this tournament thing over a few chapters so that we could see the heroes really cut loose. It feels like he’s rushing things at this point. That said, I found Rebecca and Weisz’s fights, while short, to be a good way to show off their skills. We also learned to never make Rebecca mad, because she will beat you senseless.

The one thing I am curious about is how Xiaomei created a replica of Valkyrie in the first place. I know that she’s up to something, but I can’t figure out what.

This chapter was short, but it seems the point was to get the fodder out of the way for the big guns. Next chapter will see Homura stack up against a copy of her mentor, and that makes for some good character development and backstory. I’m look forward to it!

I Give “Valkyrie’s Footsteps” a 2.5/5. Could have been better, could have been worse.

Also, we need to address how much fanservice Mashima’s putting into his work now. The slime thing was crossing into ecchi territory.

Rising of the Shield Hero, Episode 21 Review/Recap

I had been wanting to post about this since the start, but I never found the time to do it. That said, I couldn’t help myself from wanting to write something for this moment.

If you haven’t been keeping up with anime, Rising of The Shield Hero was one of the big names to come out of winter 2019. It’s an Isekai story about Naofumi Iwatani, a college student who gets summoned to another world as one of four heroes meant to save it from destruction. Standard Isekai, until you learn that Naofumi is the Shield Hero, who can only use a shield to defend and nothing else. It gets worse.

The show got a lot of controversy from the first episode when Naofumi was wrongfully framed for attempting to rape a party member, Malty. Then comes the fact that Naofumi’s first real companion is a slave girl he bought. So, there’s controversy about this thing. Not that I care.

Long story short, the anime just had Naofumi take down the corrupt religion of the Church of the Three Heroes that was behind his troubles. In doing so, though, he almost died.

Recap

Naofumi wakes up in a high-class hospital after being saved by the Queen, Miriela Q. Melromarc. He’s been asleep for three days while his friends Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty have been by his side. He’ll live, but it will take a month or so to heal.

The Queen then explains that everything Naofumi went through wasn’t supposed to happen. The Four Heroes were supposed to be summoned seperately by different countries. The Church of Three Heroes, though, decided to be turds, summoned them anyway, and hogged them all to Melromarc. The Queen was all over trying to stop an international incident while her husband and daughter put Naofumi through hell.

The Queen is, understandably, furious beyond words. She outlaws the Three Heroes Church, but she goes the extra mile to convince Naofumi to stay in Melromarc. If he leaves, the international community will invade Melromarc for what they did to him.

At the Royal Palace, with the entire country watching, the King and Malty are tried for treason, incompetence, and being pieces of garbage.

Malty’s put under a slave crest to make sure she tells the truth, but despite all that, she continues to lie. About framing Naofumi for raping her, kidnapping Melty, trying to kill her sister.

The sentence for both of them: death. Yet Naofumi’s not satisfied with that, and decides to make the rest of their lives hell. Instead, the King’s name is changed to “Trash”, and Malty to “Bitch”; her adventurer name will now be “Slut”.

Good thing, too. The Queen was willing to offer up her own life in exchange for her horrid husband and daughter. Naofumi decides to stay in Melromarc, but he plans to help everyone in the world from here on out. So he, Filo, and Raphtalia set out once more, only this time, everyone knows that they’re heroes.

Review

There were a few differences between what happened here and what happened in the manga, and light novels. First, Naofumi was the one who called for their deaths rather than wanting to spare them. It took the Queen to convince him to make them go through a fate worse than death.

Second, in this episode, even Motoyasu turns his back on Bitch after he learns the truth. In every other version, he’s on her side despite it defying all logic.

My point is that the way they react ends up being out of character for both of them. Every adaptation of Shield Hero, in fact, has gotten lighter in tone to make Naofumi more heroic. In the web novel, he could be just as bad as everyone else.

Everything that I just mentioned, though, is me nitpicking. It doesn’t tread water against the moment we’ve all waited for: Trash and Bitch get what they deserve. In regards to that moment, the anime did it better than any other version.

Having the two pieces of filth stand trial while broadcasting it across Melromarc was a great idea. That never happened in the literature or manga, so it made the whole thing more enjoyable.

The best thing, though, was seeing the anime version of Cersei Lannister crying and in pain. Every time she got shocked, I was grinning ear to ear.

I know it sounds sadistic, but let’s remember everything she’s done:

• She stole Naofumi’s gear
• She falsely accused Naofumi of trying to rape her
• She manipulated Motoyasu to fight Naofumi so she could take Raphtalia away from him, and likely hunt her down and kill her for fun.
• Charging an unfair toll to a distant village, then cheating in a race against Naofumi
• Framed Naofumi for kidnapping Melty, tried to kill her, and burned down a forest to flush them out.

That’s not even the worst of it. The Web Novels say she pulled what she did to Naofumi on other men. She’s a monster, and seeing her in pain is cathartic.

So, it may irk me a bit that the episode ends on a positive note, like everything’s right with the world. It isn’t, and there are going to be more troubles in the future. I will overlook it all, though, because it was worth seeing Bitch get what she deserves. It’s what I wanted to see Cersei Lannister go through in the end.

The anime is going to keep going for a few more episodes, but this felt like the perfect way to end the show; or at least the first season. By god, it was worth it, though. One of the best anime I have seen in years!

I Give “Naofumi’s Triumphant Return” A 5/5. I’m going to watch this episode over and over again.

Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 17 Review/Recap

Let’s go through this one more time. After getting arrested by the Axiom Church, Kirito and Eugeo escape and vow to take down the corrupt Axiom Church. After fighting through the Integrity Knights, the pair finally face their childhood friend, Alice, who the Church turned into their weapon. After a brief fight, Kirito and Alice are thrown from the Church to the outside. And that’s when we pick back up; should be interesting.

LINK START!

Recap

Kirito manages to save Alice and himself by digging his sword into the side of the Cathedral, even though Alice insists on letting her fall. After arguing for several minutes and calling each other idiots, Kirito convinces her to call a truce until they get back inside. Working together, they begin to climb up to the 95th, where they can get back in.

Back in the real world, Asuna and Rinko are eating breakfast when they notice that one of the Ocean Turtle’s escort ships is moving away. Something’s not right, but the SDF is not telling them.

In the Underworld, Kirito and Alice have made progess, but with the sun setting, they won’t be able to make it up any higher. That’s when they’re attacked by monsters. Somehow, winged creatures made with dark magic from the Dark Territory were able to roost on the Cathedral’s walls. It takes some teamwork (and more arguing) but Alice and Kirito beat them. Kirito even mildly impresses Alice with his sword skills.

As all this is going down, Eugeo continues up to the top of the Cathedral on his own, where he comes across a massive bath, and the one inside is the commander of the Integrity Knights, Bercouli.

Review

It may be because I watch too many slice-of-life anime, but I found the sight of Kirito and Alice yelling at each other funny. Those two are as stubborn as they come, and Kirito has a way of getting under a girl’s skin. And yet, they somehow end up falling for him; one of life’s mysteries, I guess.

At the same time, it’s weird to see the normally stoic Alice lose her cool because of Kirito’s antics. She’s acting like a classic tsundere.

While it may seem like it’s beating a dead horse, too, I enjoyed seeing Kirito break down Alice’s arguments about the Axiom Church. It may be because I’ve read a lot about this stuff in history books, but I have a deep hatred of people who abuse their power like this. And my opinion on religious groups who do that is even lower.

No matter what Alice may say, I’m going to say that what Kirito and Eugeo did was justified. Those two pieces of trash would have hurt their friends. It was unfortunate one of them had to die, but I didn’t mourn for them. Plenty of people would have done the same to protect their friends. I would have.

If the next episode ends up being as awesome as I have heard, then I think I will be in for a treat.

I Give “Truce” a 4/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 16 Review/Recap

I was too busy dealing with the fact that Game of Thrones and Star vs. were over that I forgot to write my review for the last episode of SAO: Alicization. I have to admit, though, that this show’s now starting to get a bit repetitive. Still, I promised that I would do every episode, and I will keep it. Or my name isn’t Roderick J Fritz!

It’s not; that’s just a pen name. And until I say otherwise, that is what it will remain as.

LINK. START!

Recap

So after that cliffhanger ending last time, Kirito manages to unleash his ultimate attack and is able to beat Fanatio, but he doesn’t have the heart to let someone that good die because of the Axiom Church’s corruption. So he decides to use one of those four dagger things to save her, even though Eugeo thinks he’s crazy to do so.

And then, as if to reinforce that the Axiom Church is evil, Kirito and Eugeo hitch a ride on an elevator with an attendant whose calling has been to work the elevator. For centuries. She can’t even remember her name.

After that sad scene, we finally get to see the main event, as Kirito and Eugeo manage to make it to the floor where Alice is waiting for them. Another epic battle ensues, their teamwork.and while Kirito has a hard time keeping up with her and her OP sword, Eugeo and Kirito restrain her with their teamwork.

Just as they’re about to use another dagger on her, though, she breaks free, and then the wall breaks open, sending Kirito and Alice falling outside of the Church. Before Eugeo can do anything, the building regenerates, leaving him alone, without his two best friends.

Review

So, a couple of things. While I didn’t mind seeing that elevator woman, I thought that they wasted time on her just to establish something that we already know: the Axiom Church is evil and the “Sacred Task” thing is like slavery with extra steps. I wanted to see Kirito and Alice fight some more! Since Alice’s return, it felt like the plot was making the fight between Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice a huge deal. Instead, it lasted about two minutes. That’s lame!

And I know that Kirito and Alice aren’t dead. Even if they didn’t have plot armor, those two wouldn’t let falling out of a building kill them. The whole point is to get Alice separated and make her see that she’s being used as a tool by the Church.

If what my fellow blogger Karandi says is true, Eugeo is going to have one of the best fights of the season in the next few episodes, while Kirito and Alice are stuck with exposition dialogue. Not looking forward to that, unless they make it interesting somehow.

So, this episode was a bit of a letdown after what happened in the previous episode. I hoped the fights would get better, but they didn’t. Not giving up hope, though.

I Give “The Osmanthus Knight” a 3/5

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One Piece Chapter 943 Review/Recap

Just when you think that you have found the absolute worst in hate sinks in fiction, the bar is lowered yet again. In this chapter, we learn the curse of the SMILE fruit, and how it hasn’t just robbed the people of Ebisu Town of their happiness, but of their ability to show any other emotion. It’s enough to make me sick to my stomach.

Recap

A flashback reveals that Tonoyasu, rather Lord Yasuie, wasn’t just the guy who tried whipping Oden Kozuki into shape, he helped the Nine Red Scabbards become the warriors we have seen. Back when they were just Oden’s followers and tried stealing money from him, he not only gave it to him, but even paid extra so they could learn to become people Oden could rely on as Shogun.

In the present, Hiyori explains what she meant about the SMILE fruit robbing the people of the ability to do anything but smile. As artificial Devil Fruits, there was no guarantee they would work. In fact, they only have a 10% chance of even giving people powers. Anyone else gets not only the “no swimming” effect, but loses the ability to express negative emotions. Shinobu confirms the same thing.

Orochi cruelly ordered the defective SMILEs to the leftover town. It saved them from starving, but it cursed them as well.

In the present, Orochi shows his wickedness once more, laughing at Yasuie’s death and comparing Wano to heaven itself. Just then, Toko runs up to her father, tearfully, begging him to get up but unable to do anything but smile. Orochi becomes enraged at the sight of her and decides to kill her right then and there. Before that happens, though, Sanji and Zoro show up, and they do not look happy

Review

Hmm, this is a new feeling. A calm, tranquil fury and its all being directed at our new hate sink, Orochi. As for the SMILE fruits, it churns my stomach to know that something so vile was allowed to exist. Robbing people of the ability to show any emotion except a fake grin, an unwanted mask that they can’t get off.

The Joker from DC Comics would probably think this is the funniest thing in the world right now.

Orochi and Kaido are poisons, rotting Wano from the inside out. If they can’t remove them from power, Wano will be destroyed.

That said, I like how the explanation that they give for the SMILE fruits, even if it is messed up. Thank heavens the Straw Hats were able to stop the production of those abominations.

Now the main problem, though, is that Toko is in Orochi’s sights, and he’s not going to let her get away. Sanji and Zoro can hold him off, but that will just attract more attention. Orochi’s thugs may let their guards down now, but Orochi will stay as paranoid as ever.

One way or another, though, I am looking to seeing Sanji and Zoro fight Orochi next week. It’ll give us a good look at what the monster is capable of.

I Give “SMILE” a 4/5

Edens Zero Chapter 45 Review/Recap

In the last chapter of Edens Zero, the crew of the Edens Zero traveled to the the planet of Milidan to seek out a fortune teller to learn the whereabouts of Valkyrie. Then we discovered that the fortune teller was actually Xiaomei. This is gonna get weird.

Recap

Xiaomei confirms that she is the fortune teller that they are seeking, and that (since she’s the narrator), she knows who they all are. On a side note, she reveals why her planet is considered frozen in time. It’s actually the other way around: the moment they set foot on her planet, time everywhere else stopped. They can spend years there, but when they leave, they’ll go right back to when they came.

It’s like if the Hyberbolic Time Chamber but powered by DIO’s Stand, The World. Don’t think too hard about it.

At any rate, she’s happy to tell the gang what they need to know, but she doesn’t want money or information. What she wants is… entertainment.

She wants them to fight against her champions in gladitorial combat. Why? Because she can’t see the exact future, just the potential futures, like that which can occur because of battles. And as it turns out, she has a fetish for battles. A big fetish.

Shiki’s the first to step up to fight, his opponent being an armored Zorg Warrior named Metal Bogey.

It lasted less than a second. And Xiaomei was very turned on by that. But that was just round one! The rest has yet to come!

Recap

Well, none of this turned out the way I thought it would. I could have guessed that this was going to lead to a tournament style event, as that’s common in Shonen manga. What I didn’t expect was the truth about Mildian. Or that the normally stoic and calm Xiaomei would end up looking like this!

After she’s finished drooling over Shiki (or the fight), she thought to herself about his relation to Mother. Shiki did say that he felt like he met Mother before, and Mother seems to know who he is. There’s so much about Shiki’s past that we know nothing of, and finding the truth is the big mystery behind the manga. Whatever Xiaomei seems to know, though, she’s not saying.

So, I can’t help but wonder what’s gonna happen next chapter. Odds are, each of the crew is going to get their turn in the spotlight and fight someone. I mean, that’s what normally happens.

This chapter got weird fast, but I think I liked that about it. I wasn’t expecting the change in character from Xiaomei, but this is kind of what Hiro Mashima does in his stories. Even the most stoic character has their moment of silliness.

I Give “Mildian Battle Colosseum” A 4/5

This is why I am such a big fan of Star and Marco. They bring out the best in each other, make each other want to be better people. They’re the best of friends and nothing can tear them apart, and falling in love with your best friend is one of the best things that can a person can experience. It’s the kind of romantic relationship that I want to have in my life someday.

Game of Thrones, “The Iron Throne” Series Finale Review

After eight years, 73 episodes, and too many deaths to count, Game of Thrones is over, and our watch has ended. It redefined what can we can do with a TV show, influenced a decade of pop culture, and became the most popular show in the world.

It’s so popular, that economic experts are saying that millions of people will either were going to call out sick on Monday or be less productive. It’s going to cost the economy millions.

I’m going to write something that looks back on the series as a whole, but this will focus on the finale. So, did it end up being everything we hoped for? Laura Prudom of IGN noted that it ended up being as bittersweet as George R.R. Martin said it would. The end of a good story’s often bittersweet, though it feels more bitter than sweet, in this case.

Picking up after Daenerys has burned King’s Landing, Jon and Tyrion try to come to terms with what they saw. They’re both wracked with guilt and grief, but it’s Tyrion who gets the message across. Peter Dinklage gave his last performance as Tyrion everything he had, the grief he feels very visible. It’s not until he gets to the crypts that we see his best performance. Digging through the rubble until he finds the bodies of Jaime and Cersei, Tyrion breaks down in tears.

No matter how much she hated him, Tyrion could never bring himself to hate his sister. The bitter irony to this scene is that, despite all the times his father and sister tried to get rid of him, Tyrion was the last one standing. The last of the Lannisters; he was alone.

And now the rains weep o’er his halls, and only one soul to hear.

Daenerys, meanwhile, revels in her victory. In the Red Keep, she tells the Unsullied and Dothraki that they’ve “liberated” King’s Landing. Now, she intends to do the same to the rest of the world.

Say what you will about the story, but everything about this scene was flawless. The cinematography was perfect, Emilia Clarke was giving her all, and the whole thing drove home the fact that Dany has become that which she swore to destroy. The fact that it reminded me of a Nazi rally only drives that fact home.

When Tyrion resigns as Hand in disgust, Daenerys arrests him for treason, and he spends what he thinks are his last hours trying to convince Jon that she must be stopped. Jon tries to remain stoic and say that she’s his queen, but we know he’s lying to himself. He still wants to see the good in her, but Arya and Tyrion point out that if he does nothing, then Daenerys will eventually kill him and Sansa.

Even though Jon knows he has to do it, he makes it a point to ask Daenerys one last time to stop this madness. It’s who he is. But this is what Daenerys has become. The Game has corrupted her, twisted her good intentions. The only reason people let her get away with it, us included, is because we saw the people she burned as jerks. The Warlocks, the Slavemasters, the Khals.

I had made peace with what happened next, but on the inside, it still broke my heart when Jon stabbed Daenerys in the heart. Sensing his mother’s death, Drogon comes in the throne room and tries to nudge her lifeless body in vain. Everyone expected that he would try to kill Jon, but instead, he turned his on something else: the Iron Throne. Where Balerion the Black Dread forged the Iron Throne, Drogon the Winged Shadow reduced it to molten metal.

This was a powerful moment for me, one of the best in the series. People have said dragons are as smart as humans, if not smarter. And in this moment, Drogon was smart enough to realize that while Jon may have been the one to do it, it was the Iron Throne and all it stood for that killed his mother. It was like a curse that had torn Westeros apart, and the carnage we’d seen in the show was only a fraction of the bloodshed. Homes plundered, dominions in ruin, all to grasp at the Throne. Drogon made the smartest decision out of anyone in the show, and decided that no one should have that power. Then, he took his mother’s body, and flew away from Westeros, never to return.

Star vs. The Forces of Evil, “Cleaved” Series Finale Review

After four years of fun and weirdness, it’s over. Star vs. The Forces of Evil, one of the best cartoons of the decade, has ended its run on TV. Unless Daron Nefcy decides to make a movie, but more on that later.

I mentioned this in my review of the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones that I was now looking forward to the finale to Star more than Game of Thrones. After watching the finale on DisneyNow an hour before it ever came on TV, I think I was right to do so. I cannot remember the last time the finale to a cartoon has made me cry so much!

A Fateful Decision

After being backed into a corner by Mina’s army of Solarian warriors, Star realizes that there’s only one choice she can make to save Mewni from being destroyed: she has to destroy magic itself.

While I fear that her decision could have far-reaching consequences, it shows how much she’s grown. Whereas the hyperactive cuckoolander we first met would have balked at this plan, Star’s grown wise enough to realize that the level of power magic gives is too dangerous. Even Hekapoo supports her decision, even knowing that she, Glossaryck and the rest of the Commission will die.

And she won’t do it alone. Marco joins her for the most important mission of their lives as they head towards their destiny.

In a rather clever turn of events, the finale also shows us the real reason why Glossaryck eats pudding so much: it helps people keep their minds in the Realm of Magic. That is genius! But Star’s plan isn’t as simple as she hoped. Try though she might to use the Whispering Spell to destroy the magic, there’s just too much of it.

Meanwhile, Marco tries to fight off the corrupted Unicorns and a corrupted Tom using his karate and the wand. Yes, he’s using the Royal Wand again, which is a cool concept. Sadly, it doesn’t really do anything, as Marco’s not as good at magic as Star is. Luckily, he snaps Tom back to normal despite getting hurt pretty bad.

Our Powers Combined

At that moment, Eclipsa, Moon, and Meteora all show up after deciding that Star was right. And then the past wielders of the Wand show up and help. It may be a little fanservice-y, but it was a nice touch to see the past Butterflys show their support. Even Solaria, the one who created Mina, helps her daugther, and looks at her granddaughter with pride. When Mina tries to interfere, Solaria looks at her in disgust and shame.

“With or Without Magic…We Belong Together”

Together, they manage to destroy the magic, and the realm begins to crumble. Tragically, when Marco asks how he and Star plan to see each other, he realizes that they can’t. Star tries going back to Mewni, but the idea of a life without Marco is something she can’t deal with. She chooses to leave her home behind to be with her best friend and true love.

Turns out, Marco had the same idea, and both of them remain stranded as the Realm of Magic crumbles around them. They don’t care, though. Magic may have brought them together, but with or without it, they know their place in the universe is with each other.

A World Without Magic

And in one final flash of light, it’s over. Magic is gone from the universe, with the Magic High Commission and Glossaryck along with it. Marco, Jelly, and that eagle guy are sent back to their worlds. But without magic, the Solarian warriors return to normal, and Mina’s victims will live.

Even Mina survives, and despite Moon trying one last time to help her, she refuses her help and runs into the woods. I don’t feel bad for her: even after seeing Solaria disapprove of her actions, she won’t let her racist views go.

One Last Spell

The age of magic is over, but just as it looks like Star and Marco will be separated forever, one last act of magic plays out. I don’t know if it was because the Realm of Magic was responding to their statement that, magic or no, they belong together. Or maybe it was that old trope of “magic being born from love” being in play; or both. Whatever the reason, a portal appears on Earth and Mewni, and Star and Marco rush to it as fast they can, only for it to explode.

Two Friends, One World

When the dust settles, something truly amazing has happened. The last bit of magic cleaved Earth, Mewni, and possibly every other dimension into one. Where there was once many worlds, there’s now one incredible one.

None of that matters to Star and Marco, though. The only thing that does matter is the sight of each other right in front of them. Against all odds, they found a way to always be together. The two lovers walk up to each other, too overjoyed to say more than a “hey” and “hi”.

And as the credits roll and pan out to the otherworldly sky that makes up their one world, they probably leapt in each other’s arms, laughed and cried, and then kissed like it was no tomorrow.

Can’t Stop Crying

Everytime I try and watch those last few seconds, my eyes won’t stop tearing up. It’s just so beautfiul. The incredible background, and the joyful music make me start tearing up from happiness . If you read my post on Star and Marco’s relationship, then you’ll know that I think that Star and Marco’s friendship has been a central part of it. They have one of the strongest relationships that I have seen in fiction; their love was strong enough to cleave their two world’s together into one.

When I saw that “Cleaved” was only going to be half an hour, I was worried that it would end being a rushed ending like the final season of Samurai Jack. But I was wrong. While it was the final episode, it was part of nine-episode arc that, in a way, could be considered a movie finale. Some fans consider it to be rushed, and while I wish the fight in the Realm of Magic went on longer, I disagree as a whole. “Cleaved” left me feeling emotionally satisfied with the ending, and it managed to come back to the core aspect of the show: Star and Marco.

This Isn’t the End

But for those not satisified with the finale, something tells me this isn’t the last we’ll see of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Magic may be gone, but now Star and Marco have a whole new world to live in, and new problems to face as Earth and Mewni learn to live together. There’s plenty of potential for a sequel in the form of comics, a movie, or another TV show! Daron Nefcy has even said that she’d be happy to come back to Star and Marco in the future, so there’s still hope.

In short, I loved the finale. It managed to wrap up the final arc of the show, ensured that our heroes got their happy ending, and was open-ended enough to allow for more adventures to be told. This may be goodbye for now, but I doubt we’ve seen the last of Star and Marco.

I give “Cleaved” A 5/5. Incredible ending to one of the best cartoons of the decade.

Click here to read my review of the final episode of Game of Thrones

Why I think Starco is one of the best couples in fiction

Four years ago, Disney XD premiered a quirky new show about a magical, trouble-prone princess called Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Drawing influence from the Japanese anime series creator Daron Nefcy loved as a kid, the show was a massive hit with viewers. People had already been making fan art months before it even premiered, and it became Disney XD’s flagship show. By the second season, I was a solid fan of the show, and I consider it one of the best cartoons of the decade.

Tomorrow morning, this hit show about a magic-wielding princess will air its final episode on Disney Channel. Before that happens, I wanted to reflect on one of the show’s best aspects: the relationship between its main characters, Star and Marco, and how they went from being best friends into one of the best romantic pairings I have ever seen in fiction.

Their Friendship

The first episode established Star and Marco’s characters pretty well. Star’s upbeat and has a childish enthuisaism who tries (and often does) making friends with everyone. She’s also impulsive and prone to breaking things, which is why her parents send her to Earth to learn how to use her magic. In contrast, Marco’s an insecure boy who, paradoxically, wants more excitement in his life yet is too afraid to step outside his comfort zone. So when he’s given the task of being Star’s guide on Earth, he doesn’t take well to it at first.

Despite Star turning his life upside down, it doesn’t take long for Marco to become Star’s best friend. Together, they go on amazing adventures through different dimensions, battling monsters and getting in and out of trouble, and having each other’s backs no matter what.

On Star’s part, while she seems energetic and happy-go-lucky, deep down, she struggles with the pressure that comes with being a princess. It is part of the reason why she hates following the rules and acts recklessly. In Marco, she finds someone who is willing to let her be herself without any judgement. Just as important, he keeps Star grounded, and helps her learn that just because she can do something does not mean she always should.

Conversely, Star’s free-spirited and adventurous ways help Marco to do things he never would have otherwise. As the series progresses, Star’s influence sparks a noticeable boost in his confidence. On a subtler level, he also learns that sometimes following the rules in life isn’t always best, and that you need to take risks in life to be happy.

Star and Marco bring out the best possible versions of themselves, helping each other grow as people. It gets to the point where Star shows she knows Marco better than his own parents, and Marco can say the same about Star.

Just as important is the fact that when one of them gets hurt or in danger, the other will go to the ends of the universe to help them out. And unlike some other partners, Marco has the martial arts skills to back that up.

When Marco got kidnapped by monsters in the Season One finale, Star was so furious that she dropped her normal, battle-loving demeanor and went into a calm, no-nonense rage.

When everyone thought that Star was dead, Marco punched the one responsible that it left a hole the guy’s chest. He was ready to kill someone; that’s not something you do lightly!

Star and Marco’s friendship is as strong as any I’ve ever seen in fiction, and it’s half the reason why I like them as a couple.

Their Romance

Before the show even started, fans were already shipping Star and Marco as an item, and it only got stronger as the series went on. Disney and Daron even encouraged this by teasing the fans as early as the first season. They not only acknowledged the term “Starco” to describe their relationship, but even worked it into the show.

Then they put this into the teaser for Season Two, and the fans went nuts:

I’ve seen ships in fandom’s before, but Starco has stood out to me as different from most others. Most romantic pairings in fiction have two people realize their feelings, and then realize that the other person feels the same, and then they become a couple. In comparison, what makes Starco special is how realistic it portrays itself.

Starco is not as simple as “Point A to Point B”. It is complicated by many events, some of which are beyond their control. For starters, they start out the show with crushes on different people entirely. Marco had a crush on classmate and skater girl Jackie Lynn Thomas, while Star falls for this wannabe musician.

Star encourages Marco to tell Jackie how he feels, but just as they start dating, she realizes she developed a crush on Marco. She tries keeping it a secret for Marco’s sake, only for a songstrel to reveal not only in front of Marco, but all of Mewni! It was the most embarrassing moment of her entire life.

She doesn’t have time to sort it out though, as a new threat forces her to return to Mewni without Marco. They meet up again, but said threat prevents them from addressing everything before Marco returns to Earth.

Meanwhile, try as he might, Marco just can’t adjust to a normal on Earth. Realizing he liked Star (before even he did), Jackie breaks up with him, and he returns to Mewni unannounced, which leads him to realize he’s fallen for Star. By then, though, it’s too late, as she’s gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend, Tom.

Then it gets even further complicated when the two get locked in a photo booth by a goblin who forces them to kiss each other before letting them out. And since Star was still dating Tom, that led to a lot of guilt on both parts.

Point is, it wasn’t that simple and straightforward. It was like a long, twisting road that could lead to anywhere. But despite all the awkwardness, their friendship remains strong, and it becomes clear to everyone that they’ve fallen for each other, on Earth and on Mewni. Everyone on Mewni thought they were dating, despite saying otherwise. When Marco babysat his new baby sister, everyone on Earth thought she was his and Star’s kid! How they got Disney to agree to that is beyond me, but it says something about their relationship.

Future of Starco?

In the end, after many adventures, breaking with their respective other, and awkward moments, Star and Marco finally realize they love each other. Disney even released a video making a big deal of it! That can be what happens in real life: love is a complex road, but it can be worth it in the end. It’s why seeing them finally become an item is so rewarding, and why I think they’re one of the best couples I’ve ever seen in a work of fiction.

Whether they may stay a couple, though, is another thing entirely. Thanks to the actions of Star’s mom, Mewni’s on the verge of being destroyed, and the only way that Star can think of saving it is by eliminating magic from the multiverse. Doing so, though, may permanently separate her and Marco forever. Which is why fans are more worried about this than the finale for Game of Thrones.

Whatever happens, I know one thing: Starco is one of the most realistic couples that I have ever seen in fiction, and I will never forget it no matter what happens. But if they don’t end up happily ever after, I’m gonna be so mad tomorrow morning!