I Love Tier Listing <3

    I've been really invested in One Piece lately. I am freaking out (positive) about the new art direction, I am pondering its weird and unspecific politics, and I am considering making fan art of my goat Bartholomew Kuma.

 

    I have been a fan of One Piece since elementary school when my dad introduced me and my sister to the show and when my sister start collecting the manga. I followed the manga weekly until college, but stopped for awhile not only because school was beating my ass but because I found the story arc of that time to be repetitive and boring. I picked it up on and off over the years and I enjoyed it largely from a sense of obligation rather than genuine enjoyment. That is until a few weeks ago, when I enter a level of One Piece mania I have not experienced in a long time. 

    This shift happened because I decided I should do some tier lists on the hit website tiermaker.com. In the process of doing the tier lists, I was forced to conjure up memories of the good times I had with these characters. 

    The One Piece list was only one of the many fun lists I did that night, and I thought it might be cool to share all of the lists here, with some commentary, explanations and self-defence when necessary.  

 

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1.  Star Wars Characters

     I think it might be pretty obvious from this tier list that I am an unrepentant prequels enjoyer. This is so not only because it's the trilogy I grew up with, and because of the stellar characterization of the prequel characters in the clone wars show, but it's also because I am just a huge sucker for the weird non-human freaks, the so-called Glup Shittos in the star wars universe. There is an abundance of Glup Shittos in the original trilogy (e.g. my main man Salacious B. Crumb), but the prequels is where they truly shine (Jedi Order, Pod Racers etc.) 

    One character that I wish is on this tier list is jizz (space jazz) musician, Max Rebo. I love Max and I love his face and his music. One of the best thing to come out of star wars imo.

    I want to talk about my favourite character in Star Wars, Maul. Not only does Maul have a very cool design, I think his character, specifically his dynamic with Obi-Wan, to be endlessly interesting. Maul hates Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan ruined Maul's life and is the reason Maul is discarded by Palpatine. Yet because Maul's so single-mindedly focus on his hatred of Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan became the only constant in Maul's life. Maul's brother died, the Republic fell, his crime syndicate betrayed him, and only Maul's hatred for Obi-Wan remains. On top of that, Obi-Wan really doesn't think about Maul all that much. He is worried about the war, about Anakin and Luke. He has outgrown Maul, but Maul can never do the same. Because what is revenge if not the desperate and pathetic need to be seen by the other party as fully human again, if not the yearning of recognition from the other. Revenge is often unsatisfying because you need your enemy, you are dependent on him to exist!!! Classic yaoi dynamic, great yaoi potential. 

     Maul's death in Rebels is such a great way for Maul to go. Maul is swiftly defeated by Obi-wan, who has at this point become much stronger than him. He collapses into Obi-Wan's arms. In his dying breath he says of the chosen one: "He will avenge us." US!!! AVENGE US!!!! His hostility passes over to comradery and identification. He died in the arms of the only person he truly knew (and maybe loved?), although in a distorted and perverse way. Beautiful, romantic, tragic.

 

2. Ben 10 Aliens

    It's might be a bit unfair for me to make a Ben 10 alien tier list because I didn't even finish the show. I stopped watching around Ultimate Aliens because I found the story lame and boring. 

    Unlike much of the fan base, I really enjoy the Derrick J. Wyatt art direction for Omniverse. I love the dynamic and exaggerated shapes, and I found the animation to be delicious and exciting. But I just never got around to finishing it. Nevertheless, I can tier list whatever I like, so here it is –– tier list of Ben 10 working off the original series, Alien Force, with a little bit of Ultimate aliens and Omniverse sprinkled in here and there. 

    I LOVE BIG CHILL!!! My favourite thing about big chill is how his wings fold up into a cloak when not in use. Not only is that tucking/expanding transformation really awesome, it also lends Big Chill a very mysterious, ghostly look. On the topic of ghosts...is there anything cooler than Ghost Freak? His original look is already creepy and awesome. But his true form is simply the best!!! The upside down skull, the claws, the torn skin...I love it so much. (I do imagine it's very difficult to animate:( )

    I want to also bring up how much I dislike ultimate aliens (not the series, but the titular aliens: ultimate big chill etc.) I think the concept itself is not the worst, there are some ultimate transformations like ultimate Echo-Echo that are pretty cool. But more often than not, the ultimate alien is just a recolour of the original design, mostly for the worse. I think it's such an uncreative way to go about this concept. 

 

3. One Piece Characters 

    For this one I think I will just go through some of the characters on the top of the list and explain my choices. 

    Kuma is highest on the list for obvious reasons. Kuma started out as such a cool, intimidating and mysterious character. He is so chilling and calm, working towards incomprehensible goals that keep the readers guessing as to his true motives. He is dangerous because he is opaque and unpredictable. I always liked Kuma because he's a cool cyborg and has an interesting design, but it is not until his backstory is revealed do I truly fall in love with him. In short, Kuma grew up as a slave to the celestial dragons (a class of ultra-wealthy freaks) and dedicated his entire life to revolt against the global ruling system with the revolutionary army. Yet when his daughter Bonnie became inflicted with an untreatable illness, he agreed for the world government to turn him entirely into a mindless robot, in exchange for the treatment from the government's genius scientist, Dr. Vegapunk. Throughout the story of the series, Kuma was paying close attention to Luffy and his crew (the Straw Hat Pirates). Moved by their kindness and their willingness to stand up for the downtrodden, he eventually grew convinced that they will bring about the liberation of the world. As his final act of free will, before having his memories wiped, he interferes in the Straw Hats' battle with an opponent they are not ready for. He used his powers to separate the crew, teleporting each of them to a different part of the world. Not knowing Kuma's intention, Luffy views this as a devastating defeat, but in reality Kuma saved their lives.

    I think the best thing about Kuma's story is how it repaints every interaction he has with the Straw Hats in a completely different light. In my favourite scene of Kuma's story, we see Luffy's defeat freshly from Kuma's perspective. Hearing Luffy's cry that he can't even save a single one of his friends, Kuma thought "That's not true, but this is how tough the New World will be, you guys are not ready for it. Don't come yet, because you will one day save the world." And you cannot help but feel for Kuma, whose life is filled with tragedy inflicted by a ruthless system, whose very personhood is about to be taken by this cruel world, who nonetheless selflessly tries to save those around him and feel hopeful for a truly just world. I love this man, I hope his story ends well and he has nothing but laughter for the rest of his life. 

    I like Sabo because he has a good heart and is very hot. (pun intended, if you know what I mean...haha hahaha) 

    I like Crocodile not only because he is sexy and stylish, but also because the spy/infiltration/secret identity thing in Alabasta was soooo awesome. I also think the numbering of baroque work agents and their secret meeting with Crocodile scratched my brain in just the right way. I love his trapdoor to crocodile feeding chambers, and I love his huge crocodile tanks. These are all very superficial things, and to be sure I love the Alabasta arc as much as the next guy. But these gimmicks are just plain cool.

     Kaku is great because he is so weird. A villain that has a long cuboid nose? Interesting. He can turn into a giraffe? Good. He is a cuboid giraffe and all of his attacks are unique to his cube body? Awesome. I also love how he seems like a nice guy that got bogged down in the secret agent business. I can imagine him in another world enjoying a normal life and having a great time. Alas, he is killing innocent people in the service of the corrupt world government as well as the literal devil.  

 

Steven Universe Songs 

    I think my criteria for this ranking is pretty straightforward. I don't love most of Sadie Killer songs, I don't care for most Greg songs, and I really do not like Steven Universe future. Like everyone else on this earth, I like the cute and moving songs that put Rebecca Sugars sensitive and touching melodies on display. Stronger Than You is such a hummable and blood-pumping tune, and Estelle's voice is just so smooth and perfect. Peace and Love is so cute and simple and is the song that got me into the show. And I Could Never be Ready is just so personal and. touching that I overlook the fact that I find Greg's voice annoying to no end. 

    God Rebecca Sugar is such a great artist. She can draw, she can tell good stories, she can write songs and sing...sometimes I look upon people like Rebecca Sugar and Louie Zong in jealousy and despair. How can one person be so good at so many things at the same time. Devastating talent. God's gift to this green earth.

    I am a little sad that Yellow Diamond's solo song What's the Use of Feeling Blue kinda sucks. Yellow is voiced by my favourite Broadway diva, Patti Lupone, and it's a shame that they didn't give her a song that better reflect her god status. I do listen to What's the Use from time to time because I will listen to anything Patti sings, but I do think it's a weird and unpleasant song, which is fine but maybe give her more, better songs. 

 

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 These are my tier lists of various things I like. There is also a fanfic trope tier list that I did but upon comparing my results with friends I realize that while I read fanfic first and foremost to titillate the senses, other people read them for less vulgar goals, like to deepen their appreciation of the characters and stories. I feel very trashy in my masculine ways and I am too ashamed to come on here and defend my choices so I decided against including it. I feel like this might be a very boring post because there's only so many ways you can express that you like a thing, but here it is regardless. You can argue with me if you hate my ranking I guess, but I stand by my choices and I think they are correct.