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Post by zaealix on Jan 4, 2022 4:31:22 GMT
I found the straight-lines striking with your art style, if for no other reason then there's kind of a...Tension? Like your pen wants to make more curves but it's being made to be all angular...
... Before I saw the art, I imagined Remus to be much more...Ah, generic? Kind of more original-flavor Mister-Smith. Just one suit among many, because it's not about one guy in teh suit, it's about the system, and suited goons being simply an extension of the system.
Of course, the snow-white look works, though I'll admit to imagining Edge as a dark-gray initially, if only because that cue seemed to be offered by the art and struck me as a good way to go, though a darker brown works as well for contrast against the villian...
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Post by Canuovea on Jan 4, 2022 5:22:04 GMT
Hey, at least Tsung-Dao have the excuse of not being humans.
It does have some nice lines to it, and that fanart is adorable. It also, perhaps, speaks to the idea being something that might actually work nowadays to some extent. The theming is on brand, and kids would probably like it. You can see how a lot of older stuff is getting remakes and such now, so it is only a matter of time before the 90s are back in vogue (if with some changes). While it has a lot of 90s isms in it, it could potentially work.
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 4, 2022 13:16:29 GMT
This is just my theory, so take it for what its worth...
But I think a big problem in modern culture and media is endless remakes.
They are appealing to a desire for nostalgia but they are doing it in the wrong way.
Everything is "remember star wars?" and "remember ghost busters?" and "remember this one line the character said?"
I want new shows but ones that have the style of the past.
Legend of the Ultrasword and Edge of Darkness- Xtreme Werewolves are both meant to invoke a sense of nostalgia for a by gone style of cartoon show, but they aren't literally just "hey we are bringing back that one show you remember."
Its still something new, but with older inspiration.
That's what the original Star Wars was, an update of flash gordon serials with a modern take.
I want to feel like we're back in those by gone golden ages of animation, watching a brand new show that's going to blow our minds.
I don't want to recognise characters and hear lines I remember repeated and repackaged...I want to FEEL like I did back then. I want new lines and new heroes but in that classic style we all used to love.
When I first saw Indiana Jones i didn't think "I remember when he runs away from a boulder".
I thought "this is awesome!"
That's the thing I want to recapture.
Maybe I'm nuts, but considering how many of these reboots tank, I feel I might not be the only one.
Also, it should go without saying...Edge can play electric guitars really, really well. Dude fucking shreds it.
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 4, 2022 13:21:25 GMT
Zealix yeah drawing them in straight lines is weird. My art is normally pretty curvy, so its odd to force them to conform to these hard shapes.
I think the bad guy in all white is a classic look. Edge is a bit scruffy in how he dresses, while Remus is smartly dressed.
Edge has spikey, unkempt hair in human form while Remus has it slicked back very neatly.
I like the idea of the hero and villain as opposites.
Remus should stand apart from the regular people in the system since he is sort of outside the system he controls. He is subverting it towards his own evil purposes and actually undermining the goals of the Containment Bureau.
He's not a part of the machine, he's the one pulling the levers that make the machine go.
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Post by StyxD on Jan 4, 2022 23:05:24 GMT
It is a bit like Gargoyles, but its a dark edgy 90s hero so its going to sound like the shows of that era. I dunno, I feel like the similarities go actually pretty far. Both have an ancient monster protagonist tasked with protecting humanity, losing their wife, meeting with a police officer woman of an ethnic minority (is it racist to point that out?), and teaming up with her to face a billionaire antagonist with ties to the supernatural. Just saying.  (I haven't actually ever watched Gargoyles.) |
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 5, 2022 0:53:01 GMT
Ummm I mean I think its getting a bit side tracked to get into a discussion of what is and isn't similar to gargoyles.
I mean I could do a list but it seems a bit off to a tangent.
This show sort of is what it is. I can't redo it from the ground up.
Maybe when I write an episode you will get a better idea of it.
(Okay so I will say I don't think goliath on gargoyles lost his wife. Most of the gargoyles were killed but I watched the first episode recently and I don't think he was married. He lost his people and gets sent into the future. There was a chick that might have been his love interest who shows up as a baddie later...I'm not 100% on what her relation to him was, but she wasn't dead.
In Edge of Darkness its more like the werewolves died off gradually over time, and eventually his wife, one of just a handful remaining was killed. There wasn't one single werewolf destroying event. In current time there are only 3 werewolves that are confirmed alive, Edge, Romulus and Remus.)
Amanda is a detective because she was going to be either a detective or a reporter and detective seemed more bad ass and gave her more combat skills.
She can't fight super natural monsters but I want her to at least be able to hold her own against threats, as they are going to get into a lot of danger.
She's Korean because I just imagined the character and pondered what she would be like and that's how it came to me. I guess I imagined her Asian and didn't want to do the most obvious Japanese and Chinese. I did consider Vietnamese, mainly because I like Pho a lot and she could eat that. I dont remember why I finally said Korean...but it doesn't really matter.
She's American in nationality and acts American (though she does speak Korean).
Shows often had a female normal character as a point of view person and (lets face it) someone to get rescued by the hero.
I don't want Amanda to be dead weight and Edge to endlessly have to rescue her, though he has super powers so will be pulling her out of danger sometimes.
Though sometimes she will do something cool or smart to step in and help Edge out when the monster he's battling is too powerful.
She's not an equal to Edge in abilities, but she's definitely not dead weight.
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 5, 2022 3:07:26 GMT
Also, I like that the name of the character is in the name of the show, giving it a double meaning.
I don't know why but that kind of thing amuses me.
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Post by Canuovea on Jan 5, 2022 11:26:53 GMT
(Yeah, Goliath's wife was involved in killing off most of his clan and trying to get him to murder all humans before they all fell asleep and woke up some thousand years later and was so evil she had the name Demona.
...So okay, they were mates but not technically married. Same deal. Demona is quite different in that she's quite obviously evil, though their kid managed not to be. Uh. Angela is the kid's name. Not subtle. And THEN Demona boinks a clone of Goliath. Yeah, that went off the rails.
But a very different situation, being not dead and all.)
But UGH, the damsel in distress trope. I mean, people saving each other is fine, that's great, but if it starts to seem like Mario then it gets tiresome. Glad Jin is a bit more competent, but it certainly isn't a specifically 90s trope either. See: Superman. And reporters and detectives do make for good fodder for this trope because they naturally put themselves in interesting/tricky situations, but that also makes them a good fit for a character who would get involved in something like this. So to me it makes some sense. If anything, this could be set up as a more interesting kind of trope subversion.
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 5, 2022 14:02:31 GMT
I'm imagining a lot of situations where Edge is fighting the monsters and drawing all the attention to him, and then Amanda does something clever or unexpected to help him.
I'm not really trying to subvert tropes, I just never like useless characters in cartoons.
When I was a kid I was always thinking "why do they bring the useless character? They always get captured and make things worse!"
If she wasn't being useful I would find her annoying.
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 5, 2022 22:21:14 GMT
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 7, 2022 2:18:37 GMT
I'm writing episode 1.
Though it may require a 2 parter...
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 7, 2022 13:30:38 GMT
One thing that was the same in the creative process of Edge of Darkness and Ultra Sword is that I started out with the main male hero but then when I started plotting it out the secondary female character kind of came to the fore and ended up equally important.
Amanda was originally just "some human he knows" in my mind and more of an occasional character. But over time she has become really central, to the extent that she will probably be in every episode.
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 8, 2022 3:47:21 GMT
Edge "There is a war going on that your kind don't see."
Amanda "A war? Between who?"
Edge "Between the forces of darkness, the long night, the growing shadows, all the things you fear the most...and me."
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Post by zaealix on Jan 8, 2022 5:03:00 GMT
Part of the endless remakes thing that's happening as I understand it is a combo of people taking advantage of beloved franchises and using them as platforms from which to spout their own messages, another part is said franchises being used and re-used because they're familiar to the audience and thus people are likely to buy them just to see the latest remake... But capturing the spirit is...Well, I should make a thread to talk about an idea or two I've had, setting-wise. ... Assuming I can write it out coherently... ... As for this show, the biggest trouble I'm having I think is a difficulty in thinking through the beats of an episode, if that makes sense...
Like, best thing I've got is this:
Something something a supernatural occurance happens, today's episode is going to be off the chupacabra, so some unlucky goats get eaten. This upsets the goat herder, who gets his local village to upgrade their pens so they don't suffer from losing more goats. But more goats are lost anyway, because chupacabra isn't stopped that easily. Enter Amanda having been ordered by Remus basically to check this out. Edge follows because protagonists stick together. Maybe I can figure out a better reason for him to show up down here. Amanda INVESTIGATES!...Which mostly means talking to the villiagers and hearing tales of the chupacabra. Let's say this is Season 1 so neither Edge nor Amanda are all that friendly. So Amanda's mostly dismissive, or thinks some human is pulling tricks and lying. Either way, that night, she stakes out a pen. Something big approaches in the darkness, she hears a low growl, like it's hungry... She attempts to ambush the beast! And it's Edge in wolf form trying and failing to get a scent trail. Accusations, and typical good guy-infighting occurs, Chupacabra eats a really unlucky goat while our heroes bicker. They whirl on the chupacabra, who looks back and forth between Edge and Amanda, and like...I dunno, Wolf-signs? Something or another akin to secret monster messaging Edge to meet him later elsewhere. Amanda SEES the wolf-sign, but doesn't get it. Chupa proceeds to fly away in a hurry, leading the duo on a chase through the village, the monster being surprised to see Edge and Amanda working together. Edge makes to leave, but Amanda tries to get him to open up about the wolf sign. Edge refuses and jumps across the village to break line of sight, but Amanda doggedly follows. (Though she has to get her car to keep up!) Edge meets the Chupa, and he explains his tragic story of being chased out here by Remus's antics elsewhere. Edge starts making plans to get him somewhere safe that he knows. Amanda shows up with some Remus goons tagging along. FIGHT SCENE! Mooks go flying as Chupa tries to fly away, and Edge carefully buys him the time he needs. Finally, it's Amanda versus Edge. The mooks are down but not permanently hurt (maybe some should be?) Amanda tells Edge about something bad the Chupa got up too, either that drew Remus' attention or like, he murdered people as a result of Remus targetting him. Edge growls, agrees that's a thing, but he doesn't trust Containment, perferring his Sanctuary idea. Amanda begrudingly agrees, probably due to Edge being the Werewolf and Amanda not wanting Chupa to punt her over her own car, especially with the goon squad expended on Edge. Climatic showdown as the sun rises, with Chupa refusing to go with Edge, he tries to be non-lethal but Chupa ain't having it, so Amanda ends up doing the deed. over the dead Chupa's body, Edge talks abotu the Sanctuary and it's connection to his dead wife, because we can't let that thread drop, right? ... Thoughts?
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Post by Harkovast on Jan 8, 2022 17:05:56 GMT
I dont want too much death in the show.
Edge's wife died but normally no one gets killed.
Edge beats people up but they don't just kill people (or monsters who are smart like people.)
Its the 90s but its still a kids show.
I'm pushing my luck a little that Amanda has a real hand gun! She can't really shoot anyone that isn't an automaton.
If I wanted death I would have the character fall off a cliff, into water or into a portal, or like an evil entity might dissolve away. That way its not certain they are dead and I could bring them back.
But not just killing people so there are dead bodies laid around, that would be too much.
Especially if the Chupa isn't completely evil, our heroes can't kill it. Edge is the dark anti hero, Amanda is the nicer character, so she wouldn't be the one executing the creature.
The idea that Amanda and Edge disagree over how this monster should be handled is interesting, I like that. And her ambushing Edge by mistake would be entertaining.
But Amanda isn't so close to Remus. His go to minion is Colonel Tracker, who leads the Containment Bureau strike force.
Maybe Amanda could be conflicted between Edge, who is very sympathetic to the monster, and Tracker who points out that the thing has injured people and who knows how far it will go?
Tracker isn't evil so if she makes a valid argument, it makes more of a conflict than just Remus demanding the thing be shot.
Maybe Tracker gets orders from Remus that the thing should just be destroyed part way through.
And then Amanda is like "whoa, I was okay with capturing it, but you can't just execute it!"
But Tracker, even though she is a bit hesitant, says orders are orders, its dangerous I'm going to destroy it.
So then Edge and Amanda have to stop her to help the Chupa escape.
"Chupacabra, like Mexican Dracula?"
"Dracula was a vampire not Chupacabra...and also he's fictional"
"You won't let me get away with ANYTHING will you?"
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