Dr. Truth

A napkin (or paper towel) with "I own Cookie's Bustle" written in Sharpie.

Here's the thing: The "copyright registrations" for Cookie's Bustle are legally meaningless.

The "registrations" were made with INTEROCO, a private company with no authority over copyright law in any country. They're about as enforceable as writing "I own Cookie's Bustle" on a napkin. (eg., below)

We've freed Cookie's Bustle from copyright hell. Here's how. | Video Game History Foundation We've stopped a persistent copyright troll who was trying to impede our work. Here's everything we learned—and how we beat them.

BREAKING: We've freed Cookie.

Following an investigation by VGHF, Ukie and Web Capio have suspended DMCA takedowns for Cookie's Bustle on behalf of Graceware, SL.

More info:

I have never been so mad at a person I didn't know existed until this very moment. Fuck the mixing people.

Fixing to create a soyjak for people who say "X certain was a choice" unironically.

This is a legitimate threat. I have the hatred and the lack of artistic skill needed.

Also, just because people have asked me on discord: The branch of Shogakukan that deals with Pokémon manages magazines for 1-6th graders. They are not involved in MangaOne, which has its own editorial staff. Senior management heads should roll, but they are likely not the same people in this case.

Should go without saying but this is obviously not an endorsement or justification of Watsuki. It is a statement about why it is not surprising that Japanese authors are protesting this scandal and not Watsuki's. There is a distinction with a difference in terms of public perception.

There's also the social capital that Watsuki has as one of the more successful Jump authors during a very dark period, and his mentorship of Eiichiro Oda. Still, if he had been convicted of abuse and not possession, I can't imagine they'd be doing anniversary celebrations of his work.

I really don't think people should conflate the on-going MangaOne/Shogakukan thing with Nobuhiro Watsuki's case. Watsuki - as far we know - did not abuse children. The mangaka involved in the MangaOne debacle did. That is a big distinction in why authors are protesting this and not Watsuki.

pokemon concierge is so good guys. if you want "cozy wholesome entertainment," this is the best of its kind (besides yokohama shopping log)

Really feel like Paw Patrol could do more to interrogate the carceral state in America though.

The writer didn't specifically call for Dragonite as the 幻 Pokemon, and only learned that they chose Dragonite when the episode aired. It doesn't seem like he had any particular species in mind, but while Mew is considered the first 幻 Pokémon, Dratini's Pokedex entry also uses the word.

The writer for the episode (Takeshi Shudo) said his intention was to have them encounter a "幻" Pokémon; this is the same term that later was translated to "mythical" for that subset of legendaries. In Capsule Mon, the same character is used for the Green Dragon "Mirage" monster.

They absolutely need more time, but they are the ones that pace the franchise at the moment. It is "their fault" that previous games come out unfinished, but they seem to be correcting it by demanding more time.

GF owns a substantial portion of TPC and get paid above their gaming dev budget. They've got more money than Jesus, they just spend a lot of it on things like paying their devs well, internal competitions that promote advancement, and other Good Things that they don't get enough credit for.

Love care and passion are put into those games but they also act as seasonal refreshes to countless arms in different industries like the anime, TCG, toy lines, etc. Literally no other game franchise on the planet operates to the extent and success that it does.

Pokémon is straight up not a gaming franchise we gotta stop talking about it and comparing it to other franchises like it is

Tweet from Stealth40K quoting Tsunekazu Ishihara: "When we decided to make the anime, the director asked, 'What sounds to (sic) Pokemon make?' To which I replied, 'Pikachu says 'Pi-ka, right?' Just like that, new ideas were born sponaneously, and I think that spirit is why the franchise was able to succeed in so many different areas."

Excerpt from Pokemon Story: Gradually, Yoshikawa, Yuyama, Kanda, and the rest of the staff came to have their own impression of the Pokemon world. From there, various proposals were born. At the first production meeting, Yoshikawa immediately made a proposal. "The first suggestion I made at the production meeting was whether Pokémon could talk. Because when animating, if they don't talk, they can't communicate or convey their intentions, can they? I thought it would be very difficult to 'eat into the runtime' to explain that. Then, Tajiri and Ishihara made a chart with all 150 Pokémon marked with an O, X, or △. It was a classification chart that said these ones are allowed to talk, these are not, and these may possibly be able to talk." Yuyama remembered this chart well. And it was the most basic idea that he had in mind when he was animating Pokemon. "When you look at it, there are very few Pokémon that are allowed to talk. In our minds, we were surprised by that, because at first we thought they would talk. But after actually making the animation, I came to believe that their understanding was correct. You see Pokémon as being on the side of animals. You are happy because Pokémon are on the side of animals and you can communicate with them. Like anything else, I think the most important theme of the animation is communication. I believe the most fundamental theme is how to communicate with various things you encounter. If they can speak, they are communicating through words, and that is where it ends. I think true charm of Pokemon is how children understand each other with something different that can't speak." (Yuyama)

Excerpt from Pokemon Story: The animation team's changing and deepening view of Pokémon is also well illustrated in the process of finalizing the policy that Pikachu and other Pokémon, with the exception of Meowth, would not speak in the end. "Ishihara and Tajiri had told us that Pikachu was not allowed to talk, but since Pikachu would be traveling with Satoshi, I told them that I wanted Pikachu to talk, and they said yes. But as we worked on it, I began to think more and more that Pokemon are animals. So when Pikachu talks, it becomes a moving character called Pikachu, not an animal, and I felt that was really weird. On the contrary, I felt that it would kill the cuteness of Pikachu. So we decided that Pikachu should not be able to talk." (Yuyama)

My first instinct is not to trust bigwigs when they take credit for very specific and popular creative decisions, but for Ishihara, it's likely he's telling the truth. Here are some excerpts from Pokémon Story that show Ishihara was involved in exactly these discussions with Tajiri, Yuyama et al.

Singer-Songwriter Neil Sedaka Dies at 86 Singer of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "Laughter In The Rain" also wrote 3 Z Gundam songs

Neil Sedaka, the singer of such hits as "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" and "Laughter In The Rain" as well as the writer of three Zeta Gundam songs, died on Friday at 86:

This is undoubtedly an oldtimer sentiment, but my one takeaway from the Pokemon reveal was that I'm glad it's 2027. Last year had too many games I wanted to play in a short span. Now I can check out Pokopia in a few months without needing to rush. I might eventually finish Trails into Daybreak.

YouTube video by TheMindOfThomas A 30 Year Story Untold | #pokemon #anipoke

My friend Thomas dropped this teaser for his upcoming documentary (I consulted on it): youtube.com/shorts/SZkej...

For an extensive period of time, I've seen misinformation about Sonic music invade the community, basically turning every in-depth conversation about music i... The Sonic Fanbase Doesn't Understand Music (Debunking Sonic Music Misconceptions) - YouTube

good video

Do you think they need a new opening? 👀

YouTube video by pokepress Pokémon Pinball Roundtable @ Stern Media Day

Had a chance to do a roundtable with some folks from Stern Pinball about the Pokémon table they’re putting out. Also includes footage of the Premium model:
youtu.be/9n37FArZFSE

This ties in with the other points you made, but since Japan isn't at the forefront, most of the infrastructure used to power the AI bubble isn't on their home turf either. So they're not really seeing firsthand the environmental/economic impacts of data centers and the like right now.

I drew my hero as a ninja turtle.

YouTube video by NUMBSKULLS We need your help.

youtu.be/qN7Ck6iu-hk

Colorblind caveman when the tribe tells him about nature:

Man, if you don't want to pay $20 for the game, pirate the game. It's free and a victimless crime. If you want to pay $20 for the game, pay $20 for the game. If it makes you happy, then do it.

Shut the fuck up.

Yeah, the internal staff are rarely "surprised" with stuff like this. I've seen tons of fannish statements speaking on behalf of "the staff" without being able to name most of them.