Airan-cast Reviews

[foxpen]

Oh, that sounds good, a final round up type discussion. We discuss, go over our picks, explain and discuss.. alrighty, that sounds good. Sweet!

[Airan]

Sounds good to me as well. I just finished recording for the Gabbers and Lovelies, so just waiting for them to upload and I'll likely try and finish up the other two tonight as well. Maybe tomorrow then? Or I can wait for you to finish all of your recordings and reviews and we can do something then.

[Airan]

Here's the review for Gift of Gab. All jokes aside, I had a lot to say about this category.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6tmf59wyRw

I meant to mention this in the review but-

[spoiler]For Sly- Should you make it into the contest, I forgot to mention that I'd like to see a bit more introspection from you. Despite the fact that the primary dialogue focus works in the app, I'd like to see a bit more of his general thought processes that lead to what he says. How does Sly think?

Also, I'd like to see him interact with someone who is just as smart, if not smarter, than he is. Make him work for his victory and actually have to choose his words carefully, not just him rambling and confusing those who can't keep up with his quick talking ways. [/spoiler]

[foxpen]

I'm without consistent internet until tomorrow evening, when I'll be working on and uploading my readings and reviews. So, maybe a little later in the week? Wednesday?

[Airan]

Sounds good to me :)

[Airan]

Here's the Beasts Driven by Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_YExhRZeQ

So, this is going to be a massive wall of text, but- I actually forgot to mention some things in regards to Blu vs. Minerva that will make my overall opinion much more easy to understand- and typing this all out was simply easier than trying to go back in and rerecord over thirty minutes of talking, sooooo....

[spoiler]Blu and Minerva are not only very similar characters, but also very similarly laid out applications in terms of scene structure.

?   Both characters are single mothers with children whom they are protective of and would go to incredible lengths for. For Blu, this means risking her life and freedom to steal the gold necessary to pay off her rent. For Minerva, she eliminates baddies and hangs them over the trees in her land as a warning so that her daughter's scary dreams don't become a reality. Unfortunately for Blu, we only see the aftermath of her failure and can only feel sorry for her as a result as her life comes crashing down. Because of how the scene structure is laid out, we unfortunately don't get much out of her besides her worry for her children. For Minerva, we see her in the act of what she does for her daughter. We read her thought processes and are shown how brutal she can be to those who might hurt her. Beyond that we see her soft side as well when she interacts with her daughter. Blu arguably shows her more brutal side when she fends off the robber, but it's ultimately done only after her children are threatened and just like any mom, she is going to protect her kids. Every mom in the world would do this, so it doesn't come across as an inherent part of her character, while for Minerva, her brutality to the weasel is done before we even read that she /has/ a daughter, and is much more an actual part of Minerva's personal characterization.

?   Both applications take the time to give their respective characters a chance to show a bit more about their history. For Blu, we learn small details such as how everyone in town used to be her friend until the thieving incident and how the land lady wouldn't give her an extension and that she's poor. We also learn that this isn't the first time she's been robbed, which might be /why/ she's poor. For Minerva, we learn through dialogue and introspection that there really seems o be a lot more to her, things that show she's not as simple to take at face value. She calls her husband an "oaf," but later is caressing the hook that he gave her, which, with the clues given, can be guessed to be her wedding ring.(It's a treasured object, was given to her, "Question that broke the quiet" Rightful place around her neck). Blu's details help to further cement her place in the world and make her more sympathetic while Minerva's, not only makes her sympathetic, but it also gives her backstory and helps justify why she might be so protective of her daughter. If she lost her husband, she certainly wouldn't want to lose her too.

?   In terms of scene, both applications are laid out in a two scene structure, first showing the parent alone, then with their kids. Blu's time alone is mostly spent giving context as to what's happened. Besides a snarl, we unfortunately don't get to see much of what makes Blu Blu here. The second scene has a focus on showing her absolving her children's worries, packing to leave, and protecting them from a robber. Ultimately though in regards to characterization, all we really get from Blu here is her worry for her children, and the writing is mostly about the actions they take- which help to make them more real, but when that's been done already, it's not necessary. More introspection here would have done well to really let us figure out WHO Blu is. Besides her situation and that she's a mother, what do I know about HER? Minerva's time alone shows her brutality, she receives plenty of dialogue to show how she acts and thinks and her general rougher personality, and we learn about her husband. In the second scene, we learn why she's so brutal what with her protection of Fable, are given suitable- albeit vague- introspection to learn more about her history, and are given a tender scene to show her softer side and motherly qualities. Ultimately, Blu's scene tells a story while Minerva's is about the character.

?   In terms of potential development- Blu has finally put her paw down and has stopped taking everything people have been dishing to her. But if she becomes this brutal mother who will do anything to protect her children- what does that mean besides she becomes Minerva? Minerva though has already gone off the deep end, she's already willing and capable of doing anything. While the path for development isn't clear for her, that doesn't mean she won't develop either.

?   This is subjective, but Blu is a fox and Minerva an otter. While species won't make a character redundant, there are already so many foxes- and vermin in general- and so little woodlanders. I want a varied cast. And having a decent group of Woodlanders and a decent group of Vermin provides the ever common conflict between them that they don't trust each other. In a setting like the arena, where the characters will either have to A. ) survive by killing one another, or B. ) survive by working together and escaping, the distrust between Woodlander and Vermin is all the more interesting, and provides a conflict that these characters have to solve if they're to survive.

Ultimately, between the two, Blu is a sympathetic character sure, but I feel like I don't know much about her besides her love for her kits and how down on her luck she is. This is because the scene is far too focused on telling the story than letting the character shine, and, while her protectiveness of her kits is a nice moment at the end, it feels less like a genuine part of her character, and more like something that well, any mother would do, and what separates Blu from other mothers or is that her entire identity? Had the scene instead been her confrontation with the landlady, her decision to rob the store, and her capture, we would have had a scene that would have let Blu have the spotlight entirely rather than her situation. Minerva on the other hand, while not perfect, is much more realized because the app is about her, not her daughter, and the app takes its time to go into her thought processes and introspection so that we can learn more about her.

In the end, these contests are about characters. And Minerva is a character. She's not just someone I should feel sorry for.[/spoiler]

[Airan]

Here are my thoughts on the Beast Driven By Revenge. Next up, and the last one, is going to be those who have secrets and then later today Foxpen and I shall probably get together to record a verdict video and have some more discussion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6haYt04aMM

[Airan]

Last one. Was a lot of fun guys. I hope you all have enjoyed my reviews as much as I've enjoyed doing them. Stay tuned for mine and Foxpen's Final Verdict video collab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XyKrKNS1fg

[Airan]

It's been a pleasure reviewing guys. My final verdict is as follows. Some of them changed from my initial reviews, so if you'd like my reasoning for each pick, go and check out mine and Foxpen's final verdict video over in her thread.

[spoiler]Beast with a Secret: Thrayjen
Traveler: Diamond
Thief: Adeen Pinebarrow
Healer: Jasper Hooklaw
Gift of Gab: Sly Speakeasy
Driven by Revenge: Silas Hetherton
Driven by Love: Minerva
Silly Beast: Kali
Beast Who Makes Things: Strathcomb Piccadilly
Beast Who May or May Not Be Crazy: Leota Nettlekin
[/spoiler]