Tl;dr: fans of a video game are excited about the release of what could be the spiritual successor of their video game. Said developer makes very bold promises and obviously fails to deliver, finally releasing a very disappointing game and alienating most of the community.
I recently stumbled upon this subreddit; I've enjoyed reading most of the posts here and figured I had a few stories to share as well. From 2012 to about 2018, I was active (though with intermittent breaks) in a community of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 players. This was a small community, with no more than a few hundred active members at its heyday and only a few people active now. Despite its small size, there were definitely a few memorable instances of drama. This is one of those stories; it actually involved another game called Theme Park Studio, which – as you may expect from the title – was not what it promised to be.
Background
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 was released in October 2004, developed by Frontier and published by Atari. It was primarily a theme park management game, where players have to earn money and keep guests happy in a theme park by constructing and maintaining rides, shops, paths, scenery and more. There was also a sandbox mode that allowed players to build without any monetary restrictions. A small but active community set out to build roller coasters and theme parks (and occasionally completely different projects) in this sandbox mode and share their results online.
While the game was good for its time and viewed positively by many, it did have some downsides. Firstly, the game used a grid: when placing rides and scenery, you were confined to this grid and had little freedom to place things where you want. Secondly, the roller coaster construction system was limited compared to similar games, and as a result most roller coasters were hardly very smooth. Thirdly, the game was poorly optimized. As an example: the game had a day-night cycle, but the game was basically unplayable at night, so people set the game to only daytime.
Over time, people became more and more ambitious in their projects, and these problems became more apparent. As a solution, lots of custom content (akin to mods in other games) was made by members of the community: custom scenery objects, custom rides and even custom roller coaster tracks. These objects were much more versatile and looked much better than most in-game content. As a result, people almost exclusively used custom content to build their projects. Combined with some smart picture and video editing, almost nothing was still recognizable from the original game.
While custom content brought a whole new level of versatility and arguably kept the community running for a long time, the aforementioned problems still persisted. Because the game was being pushed to its limits, people were wondering when a sequel was coming. By 2012, there was no word yet by Atari on a potential sequel, and many similar games from other video game publishers had failed to offer any meaningful improvement to Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. However, this was soon to change.
The spiritual successor
Enter Pantera Entertainment, a small, unknown video game publisher and developer. In November 2012, they posted a trailer to Theme Park Studio, which presented itself as a theme park building tool. Unlike Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, which had a focus on park management, the focus was on building attractive theme parks and rides. Many of the aforementioned issues were solved in this game: there was no grid-based system that dictated where you had to build, roller coasters could be constructed with much more freedom, and the graphics looked more modern. One major feature was the ability to import custom content. Obviously this was also possible in Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, but only using third-party software. That the developers were now anticipating for this was a good sign.
The community was generally excited about Theme Park Studio: it looked to be the spiritual successor to Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. The staff from Pantera would even visit the forums (at the time, most of the community was active through online messaging boards) and would happily provide updates, answer questions and take suggestions. This left a good impression with most of the community.
Over the coming months, more and more promises were being made on new features and huge amounts of content. The game was looking to become a very ambitious project. Now, it would later be discovered that little development had actually been done on the game: the trailer had really only showed footage from Pantera’s earlier title, Hyper Rails. Nevertheless, the release date was set for summer 2013, and the community was still optimistic for a long time.
In April 2013, a Kickstarter campaign was set up. For the uninitiated, Kickstarter allows for developers to source crowdfunding for a project. Developers set a goal and have a set time to achieve that goal. People can ‘back’ a project by donate towards that goal, and in return receive rewards based on the amount they donated. Money only goes towards the project if that goal is actually reached; otherwise the ‘backers’ receive their money back. Well, Pantera set a goal of $80.000 for Theme Park Studio, to be fulfilled within a month. Backer rewards were ambitious: lower amounts would get you the game for free, both a physical and digital copy, and perhaps some merchandise, while those who backed larger amounts were allowed to suggest or design certain rides for the game, and the highest-tier backers (think $500 or more, which only a few people donated) would get you an invitation to a big release party. Now, keep these rewards in mind, as they’ll become important later on.
It took a while and people feared the goal wouldn’t be met, but thanks to enough promotion and a few generous donations, about $100.000 was raised, and the goal was met. Despite Pantera’s ambitious promises, the community was optimistic. Some high-standing members of the community were even assisting in the development of the game and were offering their custom content – made for Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 – to be used in Theme Park Studio. Unfortunately, as we would later discover, this hard work would never really pay off.
Early access
The Kickstarter campaign offered a release date of September 2013. As time went on, it became very apparent that this was unachievable. The game was delayed several times; first to later in 2013, then to April 2014. Finally, they announced that instead of waiting for the complete game, Theme Park Studio would enter Early Access on Steam in February 2014.
Early Access allows people to play a game before its full release. People can play the game and offer feedback to the developers, who can use this feedback to improve the game and add new content in free updates to the players. In this case, that would mean that Theme Park Studio would first release as a basic theme park builder, and that other features, such as new rides and the custom content importer would be added later.
Early Access is an example of something that works well on paper, but is often butchered in practice. When done well, Early Access is a win-win situation: players don’t have to wait to play the game but can get involved in its development, and developers will receive money which they can use to fund the rest of the development. Unfortunately, it is rarely done well, and there are many games released through Early Access that are flat-out unplayable or clearly unfinished. Similarly, many games never leave Early Access or only leave many years later, because developers have little incentive to improve and complete a game they’ve already received money for.
Well, Theme Park Studio would turn out to fit the latter category. Upon release, the game was... disappointing. Most notable was the lack of ability to build roller coasters: players could only build flat rides (simple rides such as a merry-go-round or a Ferris wheel). The game was also poorly optimized and didn’t look particularly great. Still, many people called for the community to be patient and wait for new updates to come: Pantera had provided a route map for the implementation of further updates to provide some perspective.
This implementation was generally very slow. For example, the ability to build roller coasters – a rather essential part of a theme park construction tool - didn’t come until August that year; even then, people weren’t happy about it, as it was unintuitive and difficult to use, and many considered it hardly an improvement from Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. The community slowly grew divided. A sizeable group defended Theme Park Studio and called for people to be patient, but a growing group had become very critical of the game and its developers. However, besides lacking updates and producing a game of low quality, there were other glaring issues as well.
Pantera loses approval
Now, remember the aforementioned Kickstarter rewards? As time went on, it became increasingly clear that many of these rewards would never be released. Many people complained about not receiving digital access to the game once it was released through Early Access, despite promises from Pantera – and that was the easiest reward for them to fulfil. Even to this day, some people are yet to receive digital access. People were also losing hope about higher-tier rewards, such as physical copies of the game, merchandise and the release party.
Probably the most controversial reward tiers were those that allowed backers to design rides, however. More than 100 people had pledged enough money to have a ride suggestion implemented into the game. It turned out, however, that many of these suggestions would never see the light of day. On the forums, people complained about their suggestions being rejected, while some received no response from Pantera. When eventually an update was released that was supposed to contain rides suggested by backers, people noted that way fewer rides were added than that there were backers. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but I think no more than 10% saw their rides actually published in-game.
Now, resentment grew towards Pantera for failing to uphold their end of the bargain and releasing an unfinished, low-quality game. By this time, there was also not much left of the actively involved, feedback-taking staff that represented the game when it was first announced: the developer became notorious for failing to take and accept constructive criticism. Many people had their posts removed and accounts banned from the official Theme Park Studio forum for speaking out against the developer.
Another absurd rule on their forums was their stance on ‘dark rides’, mainly indoor rides based around creating an atmosphere above being thrilling, such as a haunted house. As the name suggests, many dark rides are dark: the atmosphere is creepy or scary, and many horror themes are used. Well, the forum banned the posting of rides containing demonic themes or otherwise being ‘sacrilegious’, effectively meaning most dark rides. This pissed off the community, as quite a few people made dark rides and this was seen as infringement on their creativity. It also spawned a series of memes on rides that were “too dark and sinister for Theme Park Studio”. Another questionable decision by the development team was to add VR support; while becoming the only theme park building or management game to have it, it was generally criticised because it would add very little to the game and so many other aspects of the game needed much more working on. I’m sure there were other decisions made by Pantera that received significant backlash from the community, but these I remember best.
The aftermath
Over time, interest in Theme Park Studio faded away and people generally gave up hope that they would ever receive their Kickstarter rewards. There were still a few avid supporters of the game, but the broken promises, slow progress, disappointing results and bad PR meant most people in the community had changed their stance over the years. The game was forgotten and slowly faded into irrelevance. There was no real way for backers to get their money back or otherwise hold Pantera accountable for the unfulfilled promises, an issue that other failed Kickstarter campaigns unfortunately also have. Amazingly, some of the backers reported actually receiving a physical copy of the game, albeit five or six years after the initial Kickstarter campaign, but similarly there are still people waiting for their rewards to this date.
Theme Park Studio was finally released in December 2016, after many years in development. It released without much fanfare and definitely without a release party that backers had paid hundreds, sometimes even thousands of dollars for; many people didn’t even notice it had left Early Access. The game never took off and its reviews on Steam are mostly negative. The entire fiasco made people much more sceptical of other new games: from 2014 onwards, many other theme park simulation games were announced and released, but people were much more cautiously optimistic about these games (and rightfully so; many of them failed, but those are stories for another time).
Eventually, the true spiritual successor to Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 was released: Planet Coaster, developed by Frontier (the original developers of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3). It was released in November 2016, prompting some to think that the definitive release of Theme Park Studio only weeks later was a hasty attempt to piggyback off of that success. It did almost everything Theme Park Studio promised and offered the possibility to build much more detailed and complex rides. Over time, many people who played Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 switched over to Planet Coaster because of the vast improvements.
People generally forgot about Theme Park Studio, and many people wanted to leave it in the past. It’s hard to find many of the original forum posts on the topic. RCTLounge, one of the major forums on the topic, was closed in 2016 due to inactivity. In 2018, Shyguy’s World, another forum on the topic, actually removed the Theme Park Studios board and deleted all posts to forget about the ‘dark and sinister’ affair. As the forum’s owner said: “The first rule of Theme Park Studio... you do not talk about Theme Park Studio”. The official Theme Park Studios forums are also down and the website is vastly outdated. Most of this post was sourced by memories, the Wayback machine and the few threads I could still find.
Many people agreed that Pantera was probably a well-intentioned company that had simply bitten off more than they could chew. Clearly they had vastly underestimated the difficulty of this project and lost any drive to complete the project as it went on and support disappeared. Nevertheless, all the drama resulted in a bitter aftertaste for many people and changed people’s outlooks on the future releases of similar games.

Hi everyone! I had a lot of fun seeing everyone talk this month about their 2020 in gaming. It's given me a lot of ideas for what I should play next. I had a fun year of gaming - there wasn't a single game that I regret playing, and as I repeat my 1-5 star format I used last year, I didn't even need that 1 star category.
I really enjoyed my year of gaming, and I took enjoyment away from every game on this list, from five stars to two. If you disagree with me about something (or agree!), I'd love to talk about it constructively!

My top 5 games of 2020 ★★★★★

Games that immediately warped into the list of my favorite games of all time

AI: The Somnium Files (2019) - This is the latest from the creators of the Zero Escape series, which was one of the highlights of my 2019 patient gaming. I was really looking forward to it and it did not disappoint. This is a murder mystery visual novel, so the only game play is point-and-click investigations and occasionally a quick-time action sequence. But the important part is the story. Just like Zero Escape, the writers do a pretty spectacular job of setting up a "branching story" where each branch contains surprising information vital to the case, but you can play the branches in any order without spoiling the story or making the final reveal a foregone conclusion. I liked the cast of characters and after Zero Time Dilemma came out a little flat on the emotional side, they ramped it up here with some really touching moments.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall (2014) - As a veteran RPG player I was starting to feel like I had run out of true RPGs to play that would really immerse me in the world - my top five last year contained zero RPGs despite it being my preferred genre. The Shadowrun series really changed that for me, and Dragonfall was the best of the bunch. This tabletop adaptation runs on a turn-based combat system on a grid, and borrows some stylings from X-COM type games like % chances to hit being displayed with every attack you choose. I found the combat fun and it played differently with every class. The fairly simple graphics and assets lend themselves well to fanmade campaigns and I played through quite a few of them without getting bored of the setting. The story was one of my favorite video game stories I've played recently, incorporating a series of individual shadowruns (infiltration missions) into a broader mystery that really came through in the end with a great twist.
Pillars of Eternity (2015) - I can kind of see why Pillars would be a little unfriendly for someone who wasn't ready for it. Its lore is somehow both generic and inpenetrable. Its verbose combat log flies by so fast that you'd have to take ten minutes studying a one minute fight to explain everything that happened. But I didn't mind any of that compared to what a pleasant roleplaying experience this was. I just adore the intricate dialogue system with its overwhelming number of skill checks and reputation checks. If you consistently answer in a clever way or a cruel way or an honest way, you'll build up a corresponding reputation that will unlock new dialogue options in future talks. There's also a ton of integration of your character-creator chosen background into dialogue options in the story. Aside from the dialogue, I also loved the quest design and the world design, especially the design of the main city you spend a third or so of the game in.
Shadowrun: Hong Kong (2015) - I played Hong Kong right after Dragonfall, and I enjoyed it just about as much! They improved the personality level of the companions you go on missions with, and maintained the quality of just about everything else. The only differentiating factor was the story. After a top-tier story like Dragonfall, it would be difficult to go immediately churn out a similar masterpiece, and they didn't. The story was serviceable enough to keep me happy and there were a lot more cool infiltrations, but it didn't quite stack up to the game before.
Dishonored 2 (2016) - I didn't like Dishonored very much. I don't know if this game was just the right place and time for me, or if I had trained myself to enjoy immersive sims more since then by playing Deus Ex and Prey, or if this was truly a much better game, but it clicked this time. There's some absolutely fascinating level design here, and Emily as a protagonist has a much bigger toolbox for both stealth and murder than D1 Corvo. I adore how open-ended the main quests are - you need someone out of the way, and you can always just run in and stab them, but you can explore the world to find less violent (or sometimes more violent) ways to neutralize them.

from this point on, I've sorted the games within each category by year and am not directly ranking their quality.

EXCELLENT ★★★★☆

Games that significantly changed my relationship with gaming for the better

Shadowrun Returns (2013) - this was like a stripped-down beta for the subsequent two Shadowrun games, and I really liked what I saw. Everything was a little less epic and polished, from the story to the combat to the interface, but it was still a great RPG system with a decent, fun combat style.
Grand Theft Auto V (2013) - This was a technical marvel when released, and even now it's pretty impressive. You could have told me it was made this year and I'd have believed it. I enjoyed the wide variety of activities in the game, and the fact that they were sometime co-opted into the main story to keep things interesting and fresh. I absolutely adored the heist system, and I was shocked that they didn't include more of those - it seemed like they stumbled on a signature game mechanic that could have carried a whole game and then just set it aside until the finale. This probably would have been my favorite thing I played this year if the characters weren't all so (deliberately, I think) unlikeable. I didn't really want any of these guys to succeed in their goals.
Age of Wonders III (2014) - Biggest surprise of the year for me. I hadn't been really grabbed by a strategy game in a while and was assuming that it was just not my thing. I figured I'd give this one two or three hours to get a taste and move on. But it got its claws in me. The main reason I liked this more than Age of Empires or Civilization is that rather than abstracting all the combat to "hitting action figures together (with NUMBERS)" every time you attacked an army with another army it entered a separate combat mode with turn-based gameplay. This set up some epic siege possibilities and kept me interested for much longer than "click and watch results" strategy gameplay. The one thing this could improve on is it's traversal system. It has huge maps and occasionally objectives to visit all four corners of the world, and sometimes I spent 15-20 minutes doing nothing but moving armies around with no action.
Metal Gear Solid V (2015) - I went into this worried that I wouldn't understand anything that was going on; I'm a longtime PC guy and have never had the chance to play Metal Gear games. In retrospect I'm kinda glad I didn't have any expectations from previous games, as this seems to be a divisive game in the MGS fandom. I enjoyed the gameplay a lot. The story was nothing spectacular but it didn't get in the way of the gameplay. I really appreciate that the designer clearly preferred you achieve things by stealth, but they still made open combat fun and balanced and even designed a spectacular boss fight that requires open combat. I also liked that the base-building sim slyly inserted itself into the story as the named soldiers you recruited yourself are targeted by the villain's plot.
Hitman (2016) - I didn't play this for super long, as I prefer experiencing something once to repeating it over and over trying out all the angles, but from what I saw all the angles in Hitman are really cool. I think it was a great move to slide away from being a "stealth" game where being spotted initiates violence to being a dynamic puzzle game where you're unlikely to get in any fights if you don't want to, but you need to find a seam in the level's defenses to reach your target with the right disguise and cover story. This game is the most polished assassination game I've ever seen.
The Banner Saga 2 (2016) - I played the first long ago, but I replayed it in preparation for doing the whole trilogy. I liked all three quite a bit. I appreciate games that don't pull punches and will let you suffer major consequences if you make bad decisions, and this trilogy is full of chances to get people killed and screw yourself. You have to understand the combat gimmick immediately when it explains it to you or you're going to have a hard time: crippling enemies is much better than killing them, and one strong enemy is exponentially more dangerous than multiple weak enemies.
The Banner Saga 3 (2018) - This carried on strong. I think it was clear the creators had an overall story planned out before starting the first game, unlike something like a Mass Effect where the writers clearly went back to the drawing board after the first game and did something totally new. I like that your main character doesn't have much of a role in solving the apocalyptic threat, instead mainly just working to get the big-brain characters in position to do their thing. Reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings in that way.

EXTRA GOOD ★★★1/2

I had a lot of 3 and 4 star games this year - to keep this from being too big a mushy middle, I decided to highlight which games were on the brink of the two categories.

Kerbal Space Program (2015) - I already said that I like playing through once and not spending a ton of time experimenting. Well, this was "Experimenting: The Game" and it was definitely not made for me, but it's absolutely a well-done physics sandbox and I loved it for a few dozen hours. I wish the career mode was a little faster-paced. It seems to be designed to move so slow that you give up on it and jump to the sandbox mode to really unlock everything.
Oxenfree (2016) - This short point-and-click adventure was a lot of fun. The story was intriguing and creepy without being scary. I got attached to the characters in just the first hour or two. I have a love-hate relationship with the dialogue system, which makes you select your response before the other characters are done talking or you say nothing. On the one hand, this is very realistic and mirrors how real groups work, much to the dismay of my social anxiety; on the other hand it takes me out of the game to be constantly trying to lock in responses to half-finished statements.
Watch Dogs 2 (2016) - I played both Watch Dogs games this year, and I liked the sequel slightly better. The general vibe of it was more fun, with a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon vibe for the protagonist hacker squad. The story never amounted to much but the individual pieces of the story were all pretty fun, letting you infiltrate and mess with various tech giants as you tried to dismantle the villain's corporate empire. The gameplay suffered from a golden solution problem where you could do a bunch of intricate hacking and infiltration for a moderate chance of success, or you could just start ringing all the guard's cellphones and easily stroll right by them while they were distracted. But in general the gameplay was fun too.
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017) - This is a shockingly short main story. I imagine it can be finished in four or five hours. But there's loads of interesting side content and that holds the game together. I don't like the power set nearly as much as Dishonored 2, but the level design is still absolutely wonderful and this one does the idea of side-questing better.

GOOD ★★★☆☆

Games that I enjoyed without reservation

Syberia (2002) - this point and click adventure game is almost too old and janky to have been enjoyable, but in between all the terrible animations and mechanics it's just so beautiful and enchanting. I love the characters and setting, and despite its limited graphics it communicates such a sense of wonder.
Tales of Symphonia (2003) - I know nothing about the Tales series. But this was pretty pleasant - I enjoyed how it was just willing to go for it story-wise. It threw twist after twist and burned through villains like tinder. The gameplay was unexciting but in the end the story was good enough to carry it.
Hitman: Contracts (2004) - I thought I wouldn't like this game much. Going in I knew it was only half new levels and half remakes of levels from the 2000 game, which I'd already played. I don't think this was a very strong choice and I was definitely hoping for some more new story, but once I got past that it was a game with a very strong design and tight, solid gameplay.
Neverwinter Nights 2 Complete (2006) - I liked this much, much better than NWN1 (played 3 years ago). It was more empowering in terms of implementing the D&D mechanics, and the story was faster-moving and larger in scale. The graphics were also a step up. It feels like a game that was modern enough, where the first one felt trapped in the Baldur's Gate era. The expansion packs were more hit-and-miss, though Mask of the Betrayer deserves a special shout-out for its excellent story.
Divinity II: Ego Draconis (2009) - The lore, story and art style of this distant precursor to the Original Sin games made it seem fairly unexciting for the first while, but I do think there's a lot of heart in here. It has the same dry sense of humor, and it actually manages to make the combat (action RPG rather than DOS' turn-based system) pretty exciting by making enemies hit hard but die fast.
Super Meat Boy (2010) - I don't really like "hard" games very much and the more completionist leanings of the game design were lost on me, but it was a pleasant enough first few hours before it got super hard. If you are going to make a difficult platformer like this, it's important to make death cheap by reloading and trying again very quickly, and SMB does this perfectly.
Darksiders II (2012) - This was good mindless fun, with a little bit less silly story and a little bit more RPG depth than the first Darksiders. The quest design was absolutely daft, with nested quests inside nested quests to the point of parody, but I mostly just turned my brain off and enjoyed some nice clean hack and slash combat.
FEZ (2012) - As noted with Super Meat Boy, I don't really like the pressure to 100% games, and I felt like I had to with FEZ to get the whole experience, but after a while I opened up a guide and just let it take me through the hard stuff. For the 90% of the puzzles I did myself, it was really good. Rotating the world is a really good starting mechanic and they make good use of it with some clever stuff. The art and music served the game well.
Watch Dogs (2014) - This is a shockingly good puzzle game that also happens to not be a very good action game. When I can hide in stealth and use hacking to take apart the guard patrols and inflitrate, it feels great. When the game expects me to do that same hacking during a car chase or gunfight, it's a recipe for disappointment. I didn't dislike the story as much as many people seem to have. It kept me interested, but I'll forget it in a couple years.
Her Story (2015) - For something I got for $1, this was a good use of a Saturday. The story wasn't anything mind-blowing, but the lead actress of the FMV clips really did a great job making it personable and interesting.
Ara Fell (2016) - This is an RPG Maker game. It's not perfect but I think they did a good job keeping it from feeling like a generic fantasy game like a lot of RPG Maker games can become. It has a very unique combination of elements: elves vs. vampires in a floating cloud-world. The mechanics are actually pretty strong in my opinion, and the story is serviceable. I can't overstate how goddamn charming the protagonist is. I love her.
Zero Time Dilemma (2016) - the third entry in the Zero Escape trilogy. Virtue's Last Reward was my second favorite game I played last year, so ZTD had a lot to live up to. I don't think it was bad, but it was a little underwhelming. There's still an interesting, twisty story, and I think it turns into something good by the end, but it has a gimmick where you play the story out of order and have to piece together what the time sequence is, and I think it drains a lot of the momentum and danger out of the murder mystery.
Life is Strange: Farewell (2017) - too short to rank it any higher, but this 90-minute vignette was extremely charming and fun. I think it was a perfect send-off to Max and Chloe's story.
Into the Breach (2018) - I don't find a lot of joy in roguelikes. But this is a very good roguelike. (Technically, it's rogue-lite due to earning rewards that influence future playthroughs, but with the very low level cap and ability to transfer only one soldier, your hundredth game will be more similar to your second than the second is to the first). It almost becomes a puzzle game with how simple yet deep the short battles are, and it's the perfect length to beat an island over lunch break or do a full run in a single evening.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) - I think all the games in this reboot series have been solid, and I think the improvements to stealth gameplay here were great. Stealth was very fun to play, and I made it through all three games without being tired of the collectable collecting. The story was hot garbage, I really didn't like a single character or a single plot point. Someone needs to take away the copy of the script the villain has. Also, someone needs to take away the teleporter the villain has.

SOLID ★★☆☆☆

Games that I took away positive things from, with some downsides

FATE (2005) - I loved the demo for this game that shipped with Windows back in the day, and I wanted to give the whole thing a try. What I found was that I didn't like it for long past where the demo stopped. It wasn't bad by any means, it's just mechanically set up for someone with a crapload of free time who doesn't mind repeating the same actions over and over. It respawns monsters in the level behind you, and drops you back several levels if you die, so eventually I ended up stuck in a death loop where I repeatedly got stuck between two respawned groups of enemies and needed to spend hours getting back to where I was. I finish almost everything I play. I didn't even get close to finishing this before it stopped being worth it. I don't want to make like it was horrible or unfun, though. I enjoyed it a lot for the first 5 hours, and if the difficulty hadn't ramped up so much I would have kept enjoying it.
Cook, Serve, Delicious 2 (2017) - I loved the first CSD game as a relaxing casual restaurant game. There was still a lot of good stuff in here, including some truly challenging challenge modes. There's really only one change that soured me on the whole thing, and it's kinda a dumb complaint. They just added additional ingredients to all the recipes, and every recipe now requires flipping through ~3 pages of ingredient lists. That's it. It ruined everything for me, and I feel bad because it's otherwise a great game - but it's not free-flowing and visceral like the first and that was more important than I imagined it would be.

There wasn't a single game I would only give 1 star to. 2020 was a good year of gaming for me!

All of the above games were new to me. I also replayed two games this year:

Papers, Please ( ★★★★☆ )
The Banner Saga (★★★★☆ )

At the moment of publishing I'm in progress on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind; as I haven't completed it I will save it for next year's list!

Welcome to the very first instalment of “Around the campfire”, an AMA style Interview featuring regular members of /ultralight.
Pmags has kindly offered to be the guinea pig for our very first go at this. Over the course of the year we will be contacting some of you to see if you want to have a go in the hot seat. If you want a turn, please feel free to send us a modmail expressing your interest. If anyone has a any suggestions for improvements or ideas for questions, please let us know.
We hope this new recurring monthly post will be a way for our amazing sub to get to know each other a little better, draw on specific skill sets and experiences, share stories, and celebrate our community’s diverse user base.
To the campfire!
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Thanks so much for the invite. I’ve participated in an outdoor online discussion in one form or another since 1996 (I’m an increasingly aging middle-aged guy with a tech background ;) ) and enjoy the conversation with like-minded people. And I’ve been enjoying Reddit /ul for a while now as my current “go-to” for discussion for outdoor topics. I’m honored that the mod crew asked me to participate in this discussion with everyone.
Name - Paul Magnanti or Paul Mags for short. Mags is a family nickname that goes back to at least my grandfather.
Country - USA
City/town - Since 2018 - Moab, UT 1999- 2018 Boulder, CO Born and raised in the “Calamari Comeback State” of Rhode Island
Age - 46
Socials - Insta, Twitter, Facebook, and a very mediocre YouTube channel u/PMagsCO
Web - PMags.com

● What got you into the Ultralight mindset?
Back in the dark ages of 1998, I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. Without exaggeration, that hike changed my life. As I always tell people, those white blazes lead north to not just Katahdin, but to the life I lead now.
However, I also schlepped way too many pounds, wore leather boots, carried excess gear, and shoved it all into a monster EMS 5500 (90 liters!) pack. After carrying that beast of burden up and down the mountains for 5 months, I vowed not to do that again.
In 1999, the internet as we know it now started maturing. Lots of ideas on hiking forums and nascent websites about this “lightweight backpacking” thing - Frameless packs, tarps, alcohol stoves, sneakers, etc. Many of the current cottage gear companies came out of that era.
Well, that sounded great to me. I hiked Vermont’s Long Trail in 1999 for the second time with a sub-15lb base pack weight. And I tinkered, lightened gear, and pared away. When I did the CDT in 2006, I had a sub-10 lb base pack weight.
● What is your own personal ultralight philosophy?
I think of myself as a minimalist with a practical bent. Meaning, I take less, tend to make do with what I have, and like the gear I don’t have to futz with overall. If I have to think about the equipment (be it too many straps or because of it being fragile, for example), the gear does not work for my system.
I also think of gear not as individual pieces but as a tool working in a kit for a given task. If my task is three-season backpacking in dry and cold condition overall, I want my tools to work well together for that kit.
● Your all time favourite trip?
Hoo-boy. That’s a difficult one to narrow down!
For longer hikes, two come to mind. The “Walk Across Southern Utah” in the fall of 2017 (https://pmags.com/wasu-overall-thoughts) let me see the unique and incredible landscape of the Colorado Plateau for a little over a month. And I showed up on my partner Joan’s doorstep on that trip due to her and I having mutual friends. She let me stay with her, do laundry, resupply, take a shower, and all the usual thru-hiking needs. I kept on coming back in 2018, and I fell in love with this incredible, intelligent, passionate outdoors person who asked me to move to Moab with her.
Of course, I loved my Northern New Mexico Loop in 2019 ( https://pmags.com/the-northern-new-mexico-loop-an-overview) as Northern New Mexico is one of my favorite places in the world: The blend of different cultures, the history, and the incredible food all add up to a place that always calls to me.
However, I think all the many short trips I’ve done over the years of a week or less add up to a greater whole. I think of all those times walking a canyon, cresting the divide, or walking in the woods, and it adds up to more time overall than “just” thru-hiking. And I’m not sure I’d change that for anything.
● If you could only offer one piece of hiking advice, what would it be?
Get out as much as you can and however, you can. I firmly believe the “gift of time” is the best asset for any outdoors person. We all have obligations in life that sometimes preclude getting out as much as we’d like. But even a two-hour hike outdoors to test a pack configuration will not only let you dial-in your gear a bit, but it will do so much for your mental and physical health. And it is time outside doing what you love.
● Your favourite piece of gear?
Budget - 100 wt fleece. An inexpensive thrifter fleece works for so many seasons and conditions, durable, and keeps my gear consumption low vs. replacing gear frequently.
Higher-end - The Montbell Alpine Light parka with just under 5 oz of fill fits many different niches for me. It’s the usual mix of Montbell features of aesthetics, quality of construction, and attention to detail. My favorite puffy of all time. (Note: Montbell provided the parka for my review)
Cottage: My 2012 ULA CDT has gone through many miles and nights over the years. Durable, more versatile than other frameless packs (I’ve carried a poor person’s packraft, a gallon of water, and six days of food at once. No, I don’t suggest doing that! :) ), and only 20 oz stripped down.
● Have you ever gone stupidlight and if so what happened?
Oh, heck yeah!
Taking a Photon II-stye pinch light while attempting to night hike with u/camhoan. Pausing to explain the stars made for a memorable evening stroll... Word to the wise: When your light is fading, and your friend is doing the walking out front, pointing out the conjunction of the stars and the planets is not something you should do!
Attempting to use a 5x7 rectangular tarp, without a bivy did not so much get stupid as inefficient. It worked, but not worth the futz-factor and discomfort.
● The greatest band ever?
I’m partial to “Exile on Main Street” -era Rolling Stones. - Sloppy, raucous, energetic, and an excellent synthesis of the many roots of American music.
Solo? I enjoy Mark Lanegan for his nicotine-and-booze voice that’s a cross between Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Johnny Cash.
● Your favourite food on the trail?
A hard, salty cheese, cured meat, nuts, and dried fruit. Any similarities to Sunday dinners growing up is strictly coincidental.
● Your least favourite piece of gear?
Please forgive me for my sins, but I can’t get into hoodies for active-wear of any type. I don’t like how they obscure my vision, trap in heat, and feel uncomfortable to me. I grudgingly wear a hood in snow, rain, or frigid weather. But I still don’t like it.
● What terrain makes you happiest?
Alpine ridge walks or walking through the bottoms of canyons with sheer walls. Not a coincidence I lived both in the shadow of the Continental Divide, currently live in canyon country, and no longer live anywhere near an ocean!
● What’s in store for you in 2021?
This past year, Joan and I got in 90 bag nights through backpacking and quick car camps (often on the same weekend.) I hope we can continue that trend in 2021. More specifically, we hope to get in more and longer packrafting trips.
2021, I hope, will also allow me to build up money and time for future endeavors.
● On trail or route finding?
We love route finding. Looking over maps, web sites, old guide books, and even the occasional archeological report to put together a route taking in single track, old jeep or wagon roads, and non-designated trails bring us happiness.
I should add that “off-trail” is almost always a misnomer in canyon country. If the route is non-technical, that break in the canyon wall, flat water paddle, strolling across the valley, or walking along the canyon bottom typically means other people came this way long before you and frequently. The lithics, images, potsherds, and dwellings indicate many people used these travel paths for generations.
● What do you think is the best and worst trend in hiking?
The best is how so many people, and increasingly more diverse economic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, are discovering the joys of the outdoors. I think that’s an incredible silver lining of this past COVID year.
The worst trend is with any trend - a way to focus more on acquiring “things” rather than experiences. We all need tools to experience hiking. The idea of hiking to acquire more stuff makes the maxing of a credit card a hobby in itself.
● Favourite movie?
A tie -
“Lawrence of Arabia”...but only on the big screen. I saw it for the first time at the Providence Performing Arts Center back in the 1990s, and I became entranced. That’s a movie meant for a large space. The music, the cinematography, and the sparse dialogue add to a cinematic experience I like to experience every time there’s a showing on the big screen.
And the Godfather I and II. I consider them two halves of the same story. It is an opera that romanticizes organized crime, but what an opera! Passing of the generations, ethnic identity, what it means to be “American”, etc. Every few years, I rewatch the movies.
● Most dangerous backpacking experience?
Crossing the Rio Grande at a normally knee-high crossing turned out to be higher than expected. With lots of white water. A bit invigorating: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1RvN09lghJ/
Though I did get some delicious chile’ Relleno smothered with New Mexico green chile’ shortly after the crossing in town. So all ended up good with the world.
● What non outdoors-related activity do you enjoy?
I enjoy reading history esp about cultural and historical trends. Closely related is any suitable alternative history SciFi. Additionally, I quite enjoy cooking. And I love a good craft beer.
● If you could have one hiking related superpower what would it be?
Going with the above, I’d love to conjure up two pints a day of temperature appropriate beer. Perhaps a brown ale, porter, or stout.
Hopefully Pmags can chime in and answer some questions you all have.
Thanks for your time Pmags.
My pleasure. Thanks for having me!

Firstly, i apologise for bad language in advance. Leaked post didn't interest me so much at first (look at mine silly comment telling "it's Sochi but curvier", gosh i'm silly) until i got some free time to actually test it on mine F1c Test Facility.
But i come with huge problem, a direction. CW or CCW? So i started investigating hardly to find all about design itself, from Google to LinkedIn videos. First real clue come from video of sim rig maker which cooperate with Qiddiya in which Hulkenberg and Grosjean race each other in Qiddiya circuit. What we see in video is upper right part of the circuit on leaked map. Actually Alex Wurz, the designer of circuit, drove the map on same sim rig during official presentation of Qiddya GP.
After all of that informations, i finally found out direction which is clockwise and i had a proof to leaked map is actually legit.
So i starts with design, you may remember me from Miami, Kuwait and Beirut projects. What i come of is some sort of street/permanent hybrid project which is 7.0km long (also leaked information).
Circuit map
Circuit map without background
Position of pitlane on leaked map is not known and mine approach come from common sense of circuit design knowledge. The only thing we know is to pitlane is positioned on left side of main straight and somewhere in pile up of white buildings is garages and paddock so that leaves narrow space for pit entrance so i come up with entrance which begin at last corner's braking point.
Overall circuit is very unique. I cannot compare with anything on current calendar. But imagine if there was hybrid between SakhiValencia Street Circuit/Spa Francorchamps. Actually for me circuit is modern variant of Clermont-Ferrand. It is soo enjoyable to drive and despite massive 7km length it's never boring.
First section fells like mix of Baku's entrance/whole section of Old City but mixed with Silverstone's Stowe corner. Pretty much insane combination, one slip of oversteer and it can be catastrophic.
Second section feels like mix of Valencia Street Circuit and Spa's Blanchimont, another insane section which is 1,6 long and flat-out! To be even better drivers pass beside now famous Qiddiya mountain which holds record for biggest outdoor projection. It could be impressive if it's a night race (also sponsors could use it too, i don't care i want to see projection no matter what it is there). Braking point is extremely difficult and reminds me to extreme version of Sakhir's T9/T10. After that there was two quick corners and Sakhir's T14/T15 lookalike. This is very interesting part of circuit. Slight mistake like on last corner in Sakhir could lead to driver could be overtaken on upcoming slow V corner. A first technical part of the circuit after some really quick flicks. After slow corner there are another two fast ones which lead to hybrid between Sochi's T9/T10 or Sepang's T7/T8 and Mexico City's T6. Another hard technical part.
So after that there is short straight before quick almost 90 degree corner which further lead to part under the hotel a la Yas Hotel but done better. The following part is technical Mickey Mouse section in which driver could easily make mistakes and reminds me to some part of Clermont-Ferrand but with modern circuit design touch. Circuit ends with long V corner and main straight is exact 1km flat-out.
After hours of testing best lap time was 1:50.889 which is 9 seconds slower than Hamilton's pole time from Spa which is only 4 metres longer than Qiddiya Speed Park. Pretty much insane fact.
This is me driving Qiddiya Speed Park on 2x2km floor with Alpine A521, two laps with T cam and third one was from bird' perspective along with drive-thry to demonstrate pitlane entrance/exit.
I also love how organisers of Qiddiya actually care about circuit design which is big slap on the Yas Marina face. Message is like "we could make luxury circuit in middle of nowhere which is actually fun to drive". Big praise to Qiddiya organisers.
Circuit is set to debut from 2023 and it will replace the Jeddah Street Circuit as place of Saudi Arabia GP.

WARNING: 8TH GRADE READING LEVEL REQUIRED FOR MATERIAL

Intro/Disclaimer

yeah its long as fuck, but read for tendies. If its too long suck a bear dick and move on. This is real analysis of the business model, not just a bunch of emojis. It is so long because of the niche field it is operating in and how a lot of key points are not understood well by the WSB community. This company really is a diamond in the rough and a great way to play future trends with less risk as you're not picking winners. Its the "picks and shovels" play of electrification and renewable energies. I'll explain the realistic case for how this company is soon going to be running the best tendie mine for decades to come.
This is my second DD post on now $MP, formerly $FVAC, and i'm back to discuss the developments of the company since my pre-merger post and add some further analysis about the valuation of the company and its future. There has been too much really shitty DD from both bulls and bears on this companywhere very few people on here have a real understanding of this company, their business model, and the future.
First - read my original DD post in order to have a decent understanding of the backstory cause I'm not about to type out all that shit again or explain what I've already written. Read that first then come back:
https://www.reddit.com/wallstreetbets/comments/jgvarn/fvac_dd_evchina_tension_play/
That post discusses mainly international tensions and the role REE's but this one i'll speak more on the business case of this company and how even without geopolitical tensions it is a true tendie mine.
Second - no I'm not a bag holder Ive been in since it was a pre-merged SPAC my average on my shares is about $14 and my LEAP is far far ITM and no I'm not selling any of them. Also, as i referenced in the post I work in a very similar field and interned in college at a mineral mine in the refining aspect as a chemical engineer, so while I'm not an expert at this I have more insight than the average retard and I am trying to give out tendies before the boomers take them from us. I will try my best to explain the business model of a mining company and why this company is the most unique and interesting way to get tech company level growth with the associated free cash flow while not having to be anywhere near as innovative. Ill discuss a lot of the bear arguments for this company as well and try to de-bunk them as most don't really hold water once you look into them the slightest bit.

Background of NdPr

While the company produces as basket of Rare Earth, the plant is aiming to focus on NdPr and other permanent magnet materials in order to play the trend of EV's and electrification. These magnets are extremely important for so many technologies due to how Electric motors work. To put it simply, at current technology the only way to convert electricity to motion or the only way to convert motion to electricity relies on permanent magnets. Im not gonna try to explain more than that because I too am retarded but if you don't believe me or want to learn how watch this video:
yeah i know you didn't watch that video, but just imagine you did and now believe me.
However, because it works both ways BOTH electric motors AND electric generators rely on this technology. This is key for understanding how NdPr is the best way to play both the trends of electrification AND renewables. First, electrification is most embodied by the rise in EV's in the future, and while that is predicted to be the fastest growing segment of NdPr demand it is foolish to not to account for other evolving technologies reliant on electric motors as well. Robotics will be a huge growth market and electrification of other industries will rely on NdPr permanent magnets. The other massive growth opportunity for permanent magnets is through renewable energies. Wind energy (and possible future motion based energy harvesting tech like tidal energy) work through harvesting mechanical motion and turning a generator to create electricity. Wind power doesn't work without electric generators which don't work without magnets. In addition, wind tech is advancing down a path to require even more magnets due to improvements is Permanent Magnet Direct-Drive (PMDD) technology from the current Gearbox doubly-fed induction Generator (DFIG). Essentially what that means is the new technology will take out the gearbox currently used in wind mills and replacing them with more efficient direct driving technology allowing more mechanical motion into electricity. These new generators require stronger magnets, thus more magnetic material. Read more about that here:
TLDR: They mine mainly permanent magnet materials that at current scientific understanding CANNOT be replaced due to their unique electromagnetic properties.
TLDR on the TLDR: Special Rocks no replacing. Need special rocks.

$MP's expansion plans

A lot of bears like to bring up the fact that $MP is still reliant on China to do their refining and they're correct... for now. Currently they mine on site and refine to REE concentrates which they then send to china to refine into Rare Earth Oxides (REO's), which then get send to become metal alloys and then finally to magnets. Currently is the only location in the world to refine past concentrate material so $MP is forced to send their material there, but that is why the went public. The intent of them going public was to raise funds in order build an on-site REO facitility, which is scheduled for completion in 2022 and is already started. They already have enough cash on hand to furnish this upgrade as they had over $500M on hand at the end of Q3, and they also are a cash flow positive company already before even moving downstream. There are EV infrastructure plays with much worse valuations and years away from breaking even on cash flow, yes I'm talking to you $QS bagholders... that tech is unproven and there are so many battery competitors in a field where there WILL be a winner
Why would they want to move downstream when they're already profitable??? Because the further downstream they go the higher margins they earn and the more tendies they can mine for us. Refining raw materials to useful materials is a value adding process and thus creates more value for the company that does it. Once they complete this expansion they plan on going to stage 3 of their business model, the ability to build magnets and other final products of REE's in America. They have not decided/disclosed their plans for this, whether it is through construction of an onsite facility, an acquisition, or a joint venture, but it is in the plans. This is expected to come online around 2025 and when the insane cash flow can begin for the company. I don't have any reason to doubt the validity of their intention as its just a continuation of the business model they are currently implementing and the majority of the corporate rhetoric is related to "mine-to-magnet" and "restoring the REE supply chain to America."
What does this mean for the company? as they move further and further downstream they will increase their margins from this action alone, but it gets even better. This can be shown in their in-house calculations of their 2023 adj. EBITDA target of $252M

https://s25.q4cdn.com/570172628/files/doc_financials/2020/q3/MP-3Q20-Earnings-Deck-FINAL-11.23.2020.pdf
it is important to note that those numbers are from the current step they are taking right now in building the REO refining facility. Adding further downstream capabilities will only cause that EBITDA value to grow as margins improve, but next I'll discuss where their margins will improve from EVEN MORE.
TLDR: downstream expansion is a way to increase margins and therefore free cash flow for the company.
TLDR of TLDR: Special rock get more special. Get more tendies for special rock.

Business model of mining companies and why $MP has insane growth potential

\**This is the most important part of this long ass post, if you read one section, then read this***
A big disconnect on a lot of DD in this sub and analysis elsewhere is the economics of how a mining company works. A mine is by definition a COMMODITY PLAY, which I know is not as exciting as a tech company, BUT it will experience tech sector growth for a period of time and then experience a period of time in which develop into a cash cow business reaping huge dividends for shareholders.
What i mean by a commodity play is through the economics of how a mine operates. Given a mine at a fixed production volume, the costs on a year in year out basis are relatively similar. What i mean by this is the cost $MP to mine and refine into concentrate will be the same no matter the price of their product. However, the revenue they receive is dependent on the market price of their product, which is what varies the most. An easy way to describe this is through taking a look at their Q3 2020 financial results presentation:

https://s25.q4cdn.com/570172628/files/doc_financials/2020/q3/MP-3Q20-Earnings-Deck-FINAL-11.23.2020.pdf
That value of Production cost (at the current stage of just creating REE concentrates) will realistically stay the same as that value is from the cost of labor, energy for machinery, administrative costs, etc. While these numbers will vary from quarter to quarter these are costs not predicted to experience rapid growth and this is what is important to realize. It costs roughly the same amount of money to pay someone to blast ore, dig it into dump trucks, pay operators to refine into ore, etc. Don't trust me, look into how steel companies operate, like this sub's favorite $MT. The revenue they receive is dependent on the price of REE's, which is NOT PREDICTED TO BE FLAT. Here is the historic graph of Neodymium from 2011-current:

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/neodymium
**If you are an investor in $MP (which you should be) this is an important website to pay attention to because understanding the market dynamics of their product is important to understanding the valuation of this company. **
Allow me to disect that graph a little bit:
1st Peak: From the aftermath of the supply shock from 2010/2011 from the Japanese Navy and Chinese fisherman story i discusses in my previous $FVAC post i linked above. China lowered exports by 40% and the price shot up drastically as industries across the world tried to gobble up as much NdPr as fast as possible in order to ensure their production lines. That was then followed by china flooding the market and selling back that backlog. that caused prices to fall off a cliff and ended up taking molyorp out of business. I'll discuss the Molycorp saga later more in depth and the differences of them and $MP.
2nd Peak: This peak (late 2017) is from the Trade war trump caused with china and is another good explanation of the correlation between REE's and geopolitics i discussed in my last DD post. The middle 2019 peak is again the trade war heating up again.
3rd peak: where we are now. This is from the increased tailwind of EV adoption, more from asia and Europe than the US and because china has been threatening to use REE's as a political tool again, which again i referenced more in my last DD post.
However going forward if you want to predict the amount of revenue MP will earn its important to understand the market dynamic and I'd like to discuss why the price is geopolitics aside predicted to steadily increase at a very fast rate. MP, like any other commodity play, relies on the supply-demand dynamic of the sector, and REE demand growth is on track to far outstrip the supply growth. This will result increased prices per ton, but MP's costs stay the same. This is the beauty of the company, as the price goes up their margins go up too! MP and market analysts predicted over a 100% growth in NdPr magnets in the next 10 years:

https://s25.q4cdn.com/570172628/files/doc_financials/2020/q3/MP-3Q20-Earnings-Deck-FINAL-11.23.2020.pdf
Don't believe that metric? check this more in depth one:

https://www.arultd.com/products/supply-and-demand.html
This graph shows most important metric as it shows that the world at current rate is not scaling up to meet demand. THIS GRAPH INCLUDES CURRENT PLANNED EXPANSIONS INCLUDING INCREASED RECYCLING. What does this mean?? There is a huge mismatch in projected demand and supply and if you don't know what that will mean then ask your wife's boyfriend about supply-demand graphs from their economics class. The result will be massively increased prices of permanent magnet materials because the world will not be able to mine and refine enough to satisfy demand, so they will be able to increase their prices. BUT AS I SAID EARLIER, MP'S COSTS PER TON WILL REMAIN THE SAME. So what is the gist of this coupled with MP moving toward downstream expansion? MP's margins will increase incredibly from a double whammy of moving downstream AND supply-demand imbalance. Now what does that mean for you?? that means $MP has a very realistic and conservative path toward becoming a company with RIDICULOUS free cash flow.
What does that mean for MP? That means that the company will be raking in cash and will be extremely flexible due to their balance sheet. They will be able to expand operations or acquire competitors in order to increase their market share and production volumes OR they will be able to transition into a boomer dividend company that will pay you tendies each year. They could do either of those very easily because the company HAS NO DEBT. In fact, $MP ended Q3 2020 with $507M CASH on hand to finance their future expansions. Okay, i know dividends are boring but the market will begin to price in that future dividend potential and give your calls many tendies along the path to pricing in their dividend power.
TLDR: Supply demand imbalance (with geopolitical tensions as a wild card) will result in insane free cash flow in the future for this company.
TLDR of the TLDR: People want more special rock more than can make special rock. People give you more tendies for special rocks.

Why Supply won't be able to scale up as fast

A very important assumption in my analysis is the inability for supply to scale up as fast as demand and I'd like to explain this more in depth as it is the crux of this DD. This is where my experience in mineral refining is valuable as I can weigh in on this aspect. Over time there will be more suppliers that come into the business and we are seeing that already, however this is where the timetables of that come into play. Simply put supply can't go up because companies will be slowed greatly due to the time it will take to get up and running and the incredible amount of upfront capital needed before even starting up the mine. If a company is interested in getting into the field there isn't a fast path in because the companies can't just decide to go into the business and then go to the "REE refining machinery store" and buy the equipment and have them get set up. All the machinery in chemical manufacturing plants (REE refining counts as chemical engineering so hear me out) has a long path in order to reach the optimum design. Ill outline the gist of this here:

Lab Scale Testing: This is laboratory scale testing in which very small batches are prepared testing different procedures and methods in order to find the optimum refining process for the goals of the operation. This is when the deciding of the catalysts, solvents, additive chemicals, etc is done in order to decide what to do to the ore to get the best product.
Pilot Plant Design and Testing: This step in the design process is designing and building a small scale model of machinery to run the process decided upon in lab scale testing in order to determine different operating conditions, determine control points, etc. This is when different tests and procedures are determined and also a proof of concept to begin economic calculations for designing the next step.
Full scale design and building: This is when the full size, real-deal machinery is designed and constructed. But again, there is not "REE refining manufacturing store" to get much of this machinery. Refining plants are custom designed (minus certain machinery like pumps and basic ass shit like that) and custom built. These are custom designed, custom fabricated large scale machinery designed in every aspect from material, area, volume, and depth in order to lower manufacturing costs while also allowing for 24/7 continuous operation. The 24/7 operation aspect is important because it is why the machinery is designed so meticulously. The most economic operations are ones that require little down time and little maintenance and a lot of work is put in to optimize this aspect. That means it takes even more time to produce.
Permitting and Certification: Now at this point the company is years into the development of REE refining, but they still can't start operating despite the entire operation up and running. In the US, now the lovely and very fast government gets to come in. Mining and refining operations don't operate under OSHA rules and procedures, they get to operate under OSHA's much meaner, expensive, and safety prone brother, the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Government inspectors have to come in and permit and certify EVERY PIECE OF MACHINERY, inspect every single moving part and permit them, and do a shit ton of other stuff for the government to allow you to begin operations. Now due to the stimulus bill's provisions toward stimulating REE capabilities in the United states I assume that MSHA will be (or already has been) told to prioritize REE companies and they will probably be fast tracked, but even fast tracking them will take a lot of time. In addition EPA has to come in and sign off on the environmental plans of the company and probably even more government entities will have to come in to sign off on stuff that was past my exposure when I interned in the field.

Now you've seen how long it would take to get up and running, but another constraint worth mentioning is who does these? Larger Chemical or mining companies (Dow, DuPont, Chemours, BASF, etc) looking to enter the field probably have their own design teams that would be able to do it in house. Smaller, non-conglomerate entities would have to hire a chemical engineering design/consulting firm to come in and do the designing, write the procedures, and train the production engineers and operators. That means there is some decent intellectual constraints as to how many people have the know-how to design at the rate needed to scale up.
Here is what is important, any entity trying to enter the sector will have enormous upfront costs in buying the land, designing the plant, buying the machinery like excavators, dump trucks, pipelines, pay employees well before starting due to training on the machinery. Im not sure the exact amounts of money needed but it would easily be in the 100s of millions at least. Then once all that upfront capital is sourced, plant designed, people trained, etc the operation would take YEARS to get out of all that debt and achieve meaningful positive cash flow. It is only a matter of time for $MP to have significant domestic competition, but by the time these operations could begin operating $MP will be so far ahead in production and have a significantly stronger balance sheet than these companies could have. $MP will remain years ahead of any other domestic competitors, even though competition will come.
TLDR: At current outlook supply growth won't match demand growth and even if more competitors pop up to compete it'll take years to start operating and even more years to match $MP's ability.
TLDR on the TLDR: Not enough people finding special rock. More people want special rock than can get special rock. They pay more for special rock.

$MP's competitors, both domestic and international

A large argument that bears like to make is that competition is coming in the US, and they are 100% correct.... but it won't matter because AGAIN this is a commodity play, not a tech company. They make magnets, their revenue will depend on the price of their product. Buyers from this are not looking at $MP like you would look at $TSLA vs. $NIO or apple vs android where you could argue one is better than the other or consumers will adopt one over the other. There isn't brand recognition, increased utility, or consumer favorites in magnets, they're fucking magnets. Think about it like another commodity, lumber. If you go to $HD to buy some wood you aren't staring at two different planks of the same type of tree and picking one because of which timber company felled it or which milling company milled it. You just buy lumber and go home because it is wood. A timber company isn't outright threatened by another timber company popping up, as long as the demand-supply dynamic in the market stays the same the first timber company is unaffected. That is why it won't matter WHEN more domestic and international competitors pop up. As long as demand outstrips supply then commodity companies will make more and more money. Now I am not trying to bullshit people so I'll discuss the international and domestic competition, but Ill explain more in depth why i don't give a shit about them.
Domestic: The ticker that cannot be named due to it being banned. If you take a look at that company it is a Uranium producer that is going to re-purpose machinery onsite from uranium production to REE production and they have successfully done pilot plant level processing. However if you analyze their production numbers you'll see that the scale they plan on producing is not quite at the level $MP will. They plan on refining 15,000 tons of ore per year with an estimated 55% REE concentration, which leaves an estimated 8,250 tons of REE per year, of which 22% is NdP (all their numbers not mine), which leaves annual production of 1,815 tons/yr. These numbers are pretty good and I do own a stake in this company because I like the potential, but its scale is not quite the scale of $MP. $MP is predicting a run rate of 6,075 tons/yr of NdPr, so yes the banned ticker is a decent competitor but its only predicting to be 1/3 the size of $MP annual production volume. A downside of the banned ticker is that they still are focusing on Uranium production so its not a pure REE play, but Uranium has a pretty decent bull case for the future so i don't want to slander that ticker too much. However, again, these are commodity plays, $MP having competition, even domestic, doest really affect their business plans or bull case. Additionally, the banned ticker is sourcing its ore rom Chemours' location in GA, but getting milled in Utah, so this is a long term inefficiency to consider as well that $MP won't have to worry about once their stage 2 REO mill is complete. the banned tickers financial health is pretty decent, but its market cap is $516M at close 1/4 which is just slightly above amount of cash on hand $MP had at the end of Q3 2020, $502M. That company is more of an investment opportunity than a competitor, if its even worth investing in.
Other emerging domestic competitors: link to article explaining them all Im not going to go deep into each one but you can see that many are slowed down to the process I explained above about how expensive and time consuming it is to reach operational status. These companies will be coming online, but won't be profitable for a while and won't be able to provide the same returns to investors for even longer.
International competitors: Lynas Corp. This is an Australian mining company that has also received pentagon funds to improve the non-China production capacity. They trade over the counter and are a real deal competitor and also worth investing in but their growth potential isn't as clear or easy as in the US. They have pentagon funding more so out of desperation by the pentagon to get more production in the western world than loving to invest in an Australian company. In the future I would imagine a lot of this government support will go toward US based companies.
International competitors: all the china ones. yes they produce the largest amount of material in the world and do it the cheapest but this is the result of none to very little environmental protection. Once the supply chain can go "mine to magnet" many companies will look to diminish their exposure to chinese companies to ensure their supply chains are not at the whims of the Chinese government. In addition, $MP is the cleanest REE mine in the world and a lot of environmentally conscious companies will want to support clean mined REE's and once domestic production is high enough there could be regulations passed to further incentivize purchasing domestically produced REE's.
All these companies were included in the forecast of supply in 2030. Even with these companies coming online $MP is still positioned for incredible returns.
TLDR: Yes competition is coming, but there is already competition. Its also a commodity play so its not facing replacement or redundancy like many other growth markets
TLDR on the TLDR: Others find special rock. Your special rock still worth many tendies. You still get many tendies.

Why this is NOT molycorp 2.0

The most common point of argument against this company is that people bring up the fact that the mine $MP operates used to be run by Molycorp, which went bankrupt. However if you read into that transaction it really isn't that scary. Molycorp did go under but this was in a period of price instability and they were not running as good of an operation. Molycorp operated during the 2010-2011 peak of REE's when china restricted supply. Molycorp stock went up a ton in addition to their revenue and thus they decided to invest in milling capabilities to create REO's (I know this is $MP's plan but don't get scared yet). Because of US EPA restrictions it was wildly expensive and at bankruptcy they had $1.7B in investments into capital projects to improve their refining capability, but the subsequent REE price collapse when china "turned the taps back on" to the world supply caused them to not afford operation. The site then changed hands back and forth until it was bought by $MP's current management for $40M. They then invested in it after literally buying for less than pennies on the dollar and got it up and running more efficiently than before. Last quarter Q3 2020 they ran 3.2x the REE concentrate production volume than Molycorp ever did:

https://s25.q4cdn.com/570172628/files/doc_financials/2020/q3/MP-3Q20-Earnings-Deck-FINAL-11.23.2020.pdf
They got to buy over $1.7B worth of investments for $40M and have proven they have turned those investments into operating profit. In addition, previous operations prioritized Cerium production for FCC catalysts. $MP has transitioned the goal product to be NdPr as it has much better growth potential to give it long term possibility. In addition, the market climate Molycorp operated under was not as forgiving as now. Back then there wasn't the tailwind of increasing EV adoption, or the rise of other high tech growth sector reliant on REE's. Molycorp was too early and inefficient to win in the market and didn't have anywhere close to the amount of governmental support for the industry. There is bipartisan support on all levels, i mentioned this a bit in my last DD post, but since then - and this is big and shows the scale of gov support- THE LAST STIMULUS BILL HAD $800M IN SUPPORT OF INCREASING DOMESTIC REE PRODUCTION! Molycorp didn't have anywhere close to this level of government support. And again, the pentagon invested $9M into $MP to help fund their REO mill because the pentagon views the ability to refine REO's as a matter of national security.

Discussing Concerns about Biden Presidency

People who say this shit clearly have no idea what they are talking about. Biden (or his puppet masters but who cares money is all green) has said he supports REE mining multiple times source. His team knows their big environmental initiatives rely on REE production and that domestic production is important to keep American industry at the whims of China. Yeah Trump was more hawkish with china but lets not act like a democratic presidency is going to let china walk all over the US or that Biden and other democrats will stop their push for EV's and clean energy. REE's are a cornerstone piece to so many of Biden's plans there is no way he turns his back on this company.

Discussion of Shenghe Resources and China and their relationships with $MP

The one real concern that people have is their partnership with Shenghe Resources where Shenghe has agreed to buy all $MP concentrate through 2021 and shenghe is a stakeholder in $MP. Many view this as a negative, but i think it should be seen as a good way to ensure survival in the gap between now and the final magnet production. A big issue would be if China chose to stop importing the MP concentrate, which would give MP no customers. Since this would adversely affect Shenge it makes it less likely and also the fact that MP produces 15% of the world's REE concentrate it would hurt the supply in china, which is huge. In fact, China removed their 25% tariff on importing REE material, read this source as it also shows how china is buying up all the concentrate they can. Japan has the capability to go from REO to NdPr magnet as well so if china ends up fucking MP, starting in 2022 when their REO site is in operation then they will be able to sell their REO to Japanese companies to bridge the gap before they have their own magnet making capability.

https://s25.q4cdn.com/570172628/files/doc_financials/2020/q3/MP-3Q20-Earnings-Deck-FINAL-11.23.2020.pdf
China is not likely to fuck MP and stop buying their concentrate as it will hurt china's wallet and ability to produce goods while only increasing the US government support for going mine to magnet domestically. China realistically views their dominance as ending at some point now, but they know they will still be able to control the market because of their scale regardless of whether they buy MP concentrates or not.
Also, if Shenghe doesn't buy their concentrates then they forfeit their stake in MP. they wouldn't be allowed to sell them on the market, the shares would just disappear, so it would effectively be a massive stock buyback and as long as the REO mill is complete then they just sell to Japanese magnet makers.

Mine Life discussion

Their S-1 states that at current proven reserves they have about 47 years of mine life left. That can be grown from drilling and exploration of more mineable material, which they stated they plan on doing. in addition, if they for some reason don't find more mineable ore on their land and don't buy more land with ore, then they could simply refine ore from other mines as the real cost barrier isn't the digging out of the ground, it is the milling.

TLDR

$MP will to the moon over the next few years.
Postions: shares for virgins and LEAPs for chads.

Edit: addressing $QS collapse today (1/4 after a -40% on $QS) and the associated EV infrastructure. I think $QS hitting the shitter, well, predictable. People flooded to it as a result of attempting to find a parallel way to play the rise of EV's without understanding the company. $QS is a solid state battery technology, but I have never held a stake in it because, well, all it is is an idea or concept. It fell today as a result of a report criticizing the basis of its technology and I have to agree, the tech is not proven and even if it works as advertised there is a question of whether it could ever solidify its valuation, even after its collapse today. Solid state batteries MAY be the future, but for now their real place is in university and R&D laboratories as the tech is not proven to work as advertised. They are in the same situation as liquid metal batteries, cool ideas without the proof they will be successful in the market. HOWEVER, $MP is a way to play EV's & Renewable energy without the risk because $MP is not relying on scientific breakthroughs, it is a commodity producer. They don't care who wins the EV race, the battery tech or company that wins the battery race, or the wind energy companies that win contracts, all they care about is the mass adoption fo those technologies. It is a unique way to play these trends without having to bet on winners or losers in the field as you're betting solely on the industry. The company is positioned to benefit greatly regardless of who wins and lets be real, the market is incredibly saturated with companies that won't win. Look at all the different EV makers big and small, the different battery companies, etc. I have a tough believing that all the small EV makers will have a shot when the large auto companies get more involved. I believe the best way to see profit without that risk is through symmetrical bets with no breakthroughs needed, just the market to develop
EDIT 2: Further DD/ another take. Yeah maybe 1 person will actually read it but it’s a lot shorter than mine, really won’t take long to read the thread. It is not my DD but rather an obscure Twitter account I have no connection to but they bring up further interesting bull arguments and address current valuation better than I can. I have no finance background so I didn’t try to pin a price or movement. https://twitter.com/dawn_capital/status/1346134740659818496?s=21
Edit 3: Research report from brand essence research estimates that REE market size is expected to reach $20.6 Billion by 2025, significantly higher the the 11 billion size from 2019 with a CAGR of 8.2%. MP currently produces 15% of the ore in the world and in 2022 is expected to be milling REO. Let’s say global production does increase and $MP doesn’t expand out and falls to 10% of global supply. That’s still about $2 Billion in revenue with higher margins than they operate on right now because of REO production.... it’s a tendie mine🚀🚀🚀
https://brandessenceresearch.biz/chemicals-and-materials/top-growth-on-rare-metals-market-size-and-share/Summary
Disclaimer: this is my thoughts on the company and market, yet I am on this site and also retarded. I am long via shares and call and am a true believer in them but best in mind my confirmation bias. Not investment advice, do your own DD, buying and selling $MP is your own decision

Of all the casualties of ~~the year from hell~~ 2020, one sticks out for me the most.
Pearl Jam.
I had motherfucking PEARL JAM tickets. I was going to see them on the Gigaton tour, and they cancelled back in March.
You have to remember that this was before sports and gatherings were cancelled, well before any widespread loss of life. Back then, I didn’t know anyone sick from COVID-19, let alone anyone who had died from it. Hell, these were the good old days when nobody wore masks outside, and you couldn’t tell the flat-earth anti-vaxxer loser crowd from anyone else until they opened their mouths.
I gotta say, that concert cancellation felt like I’d been emotionally kicked to the curb. I had such high expectations and I was psyched. When it was cancelled, it was the first thing that really made COVID-19 feel real to me.
Of course, all the other shit that has happened since, and the unbelievable loss of life due to the disease makes this moment completely pale in comparison to our current reality. But in March 2020, this was my personal turning point.
Live music continues to be a casualty of the pandemic. At least my Pearl Jam tickets are electronic and the concert has just been postponed. I am hanging on to them in the hopes of seeing Eddie Vedder and the boys when the apocalypse is over.
So I can’t say that I was super surprised when my tickets to see The Black Keys that same month were also cancelled and my money was refunded. That one was like getting a kick to the gut when you are already down, but it wasn’t unexpected either. The shitty thing is while I still have the Pearl Jam tickets, The Black Keys ones just plain evaporated when the money was refunded.
Did I mention I miss live music?
It doesn’t look like we are going to get to see concerts any time soon (or at least not until the vaccines are out there in far higher numbers than today).
In the meantime, I am going to take us to enjoy the memory of my month of March 2020 that never was. That’s right, we are continuing our exploration of the Letter B. This week, we are going to check out THE BLACK KEYS.
About Them
What do you think of when I mention Akron, Ohio?
If you are anything like me, you said tires. Akron was the home of the American Rubber Industry at the start of the 20th Century, to the point where the city called itself ‘the rubber capital of the world’. Four major tire manufacturers were located there: Goodyear , Firestone, Goodrich and General Tire. In fact, much of the housing in the city was built in part by the rubber industry to support the workers.
So circular black round things are nothing new to Akron. But flat ones made of vinyl there are somewhat more rare. I know I was surprised to find out that Akron was also the home of Chrissy Hynde of The Pretenders, the 80’s new wave/punk band Devo, and this week’s rockin’ duo, The Black Keys.
Also, some guy named LeBron James is from there, but since he left Cleveland it is a sin to even mention his name.
Patrick Carney was born in Akron in 1980. His dad worked for the local newspaper as a reporter, and his mom worked for the city. His parents divorced when he was 6. His dad listened to all kinds of music and introduced him to many different genres. He lived part time with his mom and part time with his dad. Turns out, his dad’s house was right around the block from where Dan Auerbach lived.
Auerbach is a year older than Carney. His mom was a French teacher and his father ~~smelt of elderberries~~ was an antique dealer. It was his dad’s collection of old Blues records that infected young Dan with a love for music. He grew up with Bluegrass and Blues in a time when other kids were listening to Nirvana and Soundgarden.
As it turned out, there was a pretty strong musical background hidden in the neighborhood where both boys grew up. Auerbach, the cousin of one late great Robert Quine, was fated to meet Carney, the nephew of saxophonist Ralph Carney, who worked with the also late-great Tom Waits.
Or, going by genres… a combination of experimental rock and Blues/Jazz. Yep, sounds about right.
Their friendship first developed in highschool. Despite being in very, very different circles (~~cheer captain and bleachers~~ soccer captain and social outcast) the boys found a shared interest in music. They began jamming in 1996, with Auerbach learning guitar and Carney playing drums (and recording with his shiny new 4-track tape recorder. )
Not much came from this until Auerbach, a fresh dropout of U of Akron, began touring. He tried to make a living doing small bar performances, but quickly found most venues would demand a demo tape. Auerbach reached out to the only person he knew who had recording equipment - Carney. Carney agreed, allowing his basement to be used as a studio while Auerbach found his bandmates.
Who, fatefully for us, never showed up.
The duo ended up jamming out in the basement. Their chemistry led to them producing a 6-track demo consisting of “old Blues rip-offs and words made up on the spot”. They sent this rag-tag demo off to 12 labels. Only one label replied: a small-time one out of Los Angeles called Alive. The year was 2002.
The duo needed a name. Their moniker came from schizophrenia - I kid you not. And neither do I. (We also don’t.) A mutual acquaintance, Alfred McMoore, would leave incoherent messages referring to the boy's fathers as “Black Keys” - you know, those piano keys like D-Flat or C-Sharp or B-SharpSharp. In March of 2002, the duo played their first live performance at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, to an astonishing eight people. The duo needed a “big” release to make it “big”.
So, they had to “come up” with something “big”.
The Big Come Up (2002) is Indie as fuck. Much like their first demo, it was recorded entirely in Carney’s basement on an 8-track tape recorder. (If you are following along: Upgrades, people. Upgrades! !) It’s a mix of Blues covers and original tracks, and despite it’s roughness, it’s a beautiful example of the duo’s sheer talent. Honestly, the loose, rough-around-the-edges nature of this thing suits the music exceptionally well. Tracks like I’ll Be Your Man, Busted, and Heavy Soul are lo-fi, Bluesy blasts of distorted guitar, sultry vocals, and ~~thinly mixed~~ thumpin’ drums. What can I say - there’s an undeniable charm in simplicity.
And this big come up was not going unnoticed. The boys achieved some decent sales, and garnered a bit of a cult following. Critics started to notice them, and soon, they managed to land themselves a whole new deal.
That’s right, they were moving up in the world. The Black Keys started mowing lawns full time.
Truly, the dream job.
Look man, I said the sales were decent, not amazing. The duo still needed cash for the road, so they did what they could to make ends meet. Mowing lawns really paid off when they earned themselves a new record deal, this time with Mississippi’s Fat Possum Records.
Evidently, they completed their second album within mere days of signing. Possums are inspirational, what can I say.
2003’s Thickfreakness is every bit as Indie as their first album. It was recorded in the same style as its predecessors - i.e., Carney's basement on ye olde 8-track tape recorder. This time, however, all the recording was done in a single 14 hour session. Apparently, this strategy was necessary since the band had spent all of their advanced pay on rent. In other words, it’s basically a live album. It’s raw, it’s rough, and it’s rockin’ - and yet somehow, it’s as smooth as the petroleum jelly on its cover. Oh yeah. Thick AND freaky.
Actually, quick side note on the cover art of this album: the band had almost zero idea what they wanted to do for it at first. They drove around Akron searching for ideas, and only got one when they stumbled into a Super K-Mart. There, they found a can of Pomade hair styling cream, and were struck by inspiration. They rushed it home and took the image we all know and love by lighting it up with every lamp in their house. Patrick Carney’s hand is seen in the image. Now you know!
Any way, if you liked their first album, you’d love Thickfreakness just as much. Tracks like Hard Row, Set You Free, and the titular Thickfreakness are explosions of catchy riffs and Bluesy euphoria. Critics hailed it once again, and soon, The Black Keys were garnering even more attention than before.
Many compared them to the White Stripes, and not always in a positive light. There was a certain level of derision in the comparison, since both bands were duos from the midwest that played Garagey Blues Rock and had a color in their name.
Hmm. Okay, when you put it like that they sound pretty fucking similar. But I mean, it isn’t completely unfathomable that it happened twice…now, if I were to go start a band called “The Grey, Door-Unlocking, Straight Lines”, THAT might be a bit copyright infringe-y.
This also gave rise to their first big time advertising offer. They could have gotten £200,000 for letting a company use one of their songs in an English Mayonnaise Ad. Mayonnaise: the international benchmark for when you are hitting the big time. However, they turned down the offer in order to not be perceived as “Sell outs”. This may be foreshadowing, unless I forget to follow up on this. I guess we’ll find out later.
The band faced a challenge in their third album. Their previous record studio, a basement, was no longer available to them after the landlord sold it. They found the answer in Akron’s industrial history: a makeshift studio in a former tire factory.
Released in September of 2004, Rubber Factory received critical acclaim. It was the first of their albums to chart on the US billboard 200 (at a respectable 143). Stand-out songs include the two singles, 10 A.M. Automatic and Till I get my way/Girl is on my Mind, the latter of which being a double A-side. The duo rolled across the globe on a world tour, spawning a live album fittingly called Live in 2005.
The boys were doing pretty damn well. Enjoying the success of their previous album, they went on to finish up their deal with Fat Possum. The 6 track album Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough acts as a tribute to Bluesman Junior Kimbrough, who had previously signed on with the Chunky Marsupial label. Recorded in an Akron Basement, it’s a classy tribute to a good musician.
But the most important part of Chulahoma was that it set the boys free from the… pouch, I guess? Marsupials are weird. The point is, the boys could now sign on with a different label. And after Rubber Factory, they certainly had options.
The Fat Possum contract satisfied, the band signed with Nonesuch Records in 2006. Later that year, the band released a second live album, Live in Austin, which was recorded in 2003. The band also landed a few major advertising gigs, including Sony, Nissan, and Victoria’s Secret.
You’d think with all this new popularity, the band would go for a real, serious studio for their fourth album.
Magic Potion (2006) was recorded in Carney’s Basement.
I guess some habits are hard to shake. Auerbach was quoted as saying, “We like the sound of odd rooms. It's got concrete floors and walls. The upstairs floor is the ceiling. The mixing desk and computer are on top of the tool desk built by the old guy who used to live there.”
The band took the finished tapes, and had them remastered for $350.
When they were returned, the duo discovered that their master tapes had zero bass. In a move that Carney still regrets, the band went “Oh, Ok” and mailed them off to the record label anyway.
The album was their first to contain all-original songs, and included three singles: Just Got to Be, a pretty started Bluesy-Rock song. Your Touch which ~~could also be a Victoria's Secret deal~~ is a pretty straightforward Rock song. You’re The One is a bit more reserved, but not a ballad by any stretch of the mind.
It’s 42 minutes of their standard, Bluesy Rock and it’s worth a listen. It also spawned the band’s largest tour thus far, filling theaters and 1,000-seat venues.
In 2007, producer Danger Mouse began working on a record for one Ike Turner. Turner was an early Rock and Roll legend, and when Danger Mouse asked if The Black Keys would like to record a few songs for the project, they jumped at the chance.
Unfortunately, the deal did not go through. Later, in 2007, Turner passed away. The band was left with a scattering of material that they decided to use to build a new album.
Attack & Release, their fifth studio album, was born of this and produced by Danger Mouse. The band noticeably moved away from their “homemade” ethos by recording in a professional studio. They also hired an outside producer. Danger Mouse helped the band out with buttery-smooth production values and instrumental flourishes.
The net result was an album that debuted at #14 on the Billboard 200. This thing is a real Beaut’. It brings a whole new sheen to the Black Keys’ signature brand of garage minimalism. The band stepped out of their established comfort zone, and came through better than ever. I’m talking backing vocals, guest guitarists, flute players. Dogs and cats, living together. Mass hysteria. Hell, why not throw in a jaw harp and a bass clarinet? We’re getting creative here.
Front to back, this album is thoroughly enjoyable and remarkably clean, especially if you’re used to their more rugged early work. Check out the banjo-inspired riffage of Psychotic Girl, and you’ll understand. Fun fact: that song is certifiably catchier than syphilis. I Got Mine and Strange Times are fast, thumping, and should probably come with a speeding warning. Yet the Keys showed a softer side here too - Remember When is a beautiful two part slow burn, and the album’s final track Things Ain't Like They Used To Be is a silky, freshly-mowed Bluegrass duet.
The production quality on Attack & Release became a staple of all of their future albums.
Have you ever wondered about those crazy stupid instructions you sometimes see on everyday items? Like, Q-Tip instructions where they say not to put them in your ears? (Which is exactly what I do, because they scratch that itch so good.) Well, if you look at the cover of the 2010 album Brothers, you totally get the same vibe. It was a success, with two songs off of it - Tighten Up and Howlin’ For You - generating tons of buzz for the band. Both had significant airplay.
If I am completely honest here, Howlin’ For You was my introduction to the duo. I remember hearing it on the radio one day and thinking how different the sound was, and how fresh it sounded compared to the hillbilly-hey-ho kinda stuff that was then all over the airwaves.
In reality, the success of this album probably saved the band. Auerbach had been dabbling in solo projects and had let everyone know - except Carney. Carney had been going through a particularly shitty time, as his wife had cheated on him, stolen money, and lied to him repeatedly. He had just gone through a bad divorce (is there such a thing as a good divorce?) and his last important relationship was with his bandmate - who now wanted to do music without him.
Fuck.
Fortunately, the duo got their proverbial shit together and decided to keep making music. The title of the album reflects this re-commitment to the band. Brothers is darker, because Carney was in a dark place when it was made. The vibe of the record resonated with many. It won Grammy awards and gave the band some significant airplay and critical momentum. The boys went from being Indie darlings to mainstream music icons with this release. It has just been re-mastered and re-released for its 10th anniversary.
The slow burn of success finally peaked for the band with El Camino in 2011. Seriously, you have already heard songs from this record, as they had massive airplay. If you somehow have lived under a Rock, this is a great place to start for the band. If Brothers was their Rated R, then El Camino is their Songs for the Deaf. Tracks like Lonely Boy and Gold on the Ceiling and Little Black Submarines were everywhere. The album received absolutely universal acclaim, and anyone who doesn’t like it is a flat-earth QAnon supporter. Well, probably.
Perhaps one of the best things about the album is that instead of the classic title vehicle, the cover has a Plymouth Voyager. A van. With woodwalls, ffs. Anyone that knows any history of the band knows that the van there was a picture of the first vehicle that they toured in, making it the ultimate kind of in-joke. Carney, never one to be shy, compared the appearance of his home town to the cover of the album, saying that Akron was, “A busted up parking lot with a busted up car.”
But at least we know that van had good tires. It was from Akron, after all.
El Camino propelled The Black Keys from an opener to a headliner. They were soon selling out venues all over the world. To new listeners in 2011, they seemingly came out of nowhere. But to the eight early fans that had seen them (perhaps when they toured in that fugly van) this was the culmination of years of steady effort.
Now they had to prove to the world that this record was not a fluke.
Turn Blue, their eighth effort, came out in May of 2014. El Camino had been such a massive hit that the boys felt the heavy weight of expectations.
They did not disappoint.
Clearly inspired by Auerbach’s love of the Blues, this effort made numerous global top ten lists. Critics LOVED it. Tunes like Fever and Bullet in the Brain made you think you were listening to an album from the 60’s that was also somehow brand new. Their unique brand of Bluesy Garage Rock mixed with Psychedelia was unlike anything else out there. The cover art was supposed to be reminiscent of hippie mind control, and helped portray them as modern throwbacks.
The boys had truly found fame. They were now headlining world tours, selling out stadiums, and finding their way into mainstream culture. They performed for the third time on SNL. Carney was having twitter fights with Justin Bieber fans (I mean, not the worst thing you could do) and, somewhat to his surprise, this kinda shit now made the entertainment news. Even the album was announced in a tweet by retired Heavyweight ~~ear muncher~~ boxing champion Mike Tyson.
The Black Keys had a massive global tour in support of the record. They were on top of the world.
And they were very soon burnt out.
The constant grind of touring got to them. They got into music to make music, and felt that they were just too drained to do so.
So they took a break. A long one.
After a five-year hiatus where fans feared that they may never return, The Black Keys finally dropped Let’s Rock in June of 2019. The lead single from this album, Lo/Hi, was a gritty guitar-themed track that showed that this duo still had all the right moves, despite the long time between recording projects. The album itself is a scorcher. All of the songs were written by Auerbach and Carney in the studio, with neither of them bringing in anything pre-worked. They’d mess around with a lick or a theme for about an hour and if something in it clicked, they’d continue. If nothing did, they’d ditch it and move on.
This approach may sound similar to many QotSA fans, as it mimics pretty closely what Josh does with his parade of artists out at Rancho de la Luna when coming up with material for The Desert Sessions.
The title of the album was inspired by the execution of convicted murderer Edmund Zagorski. As he was strapped to the electric chair and asked if he had any last words, Zagorski said, “Let’s Rock”.
So now you know how the album got its title, and also why it has an electric chair on the cover.
I have no fucking idea why it is a pink electric chair, but the cartoon lover in me wants to think that it is because of the clearly pink zaps of electricity that the chair delivers.
Pink zaps or no, the band had a hit record. It was an international stand out, and remains one of their best recordings.
And I, like some of you, was going to see this goddam tour before COVID. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.
I miss live music, and I for-fucking-sure am going to catch them the next time they tour. I encourage you to do so too.
Links to QOTSA
The Black Keys have shared a stage with QotSA a number of times at concerts and festivals. These guys are true contemporaries in the music world.
However, things have not always been super-duper between them. Patrick Carney has lit into Josh Homme and Lady Gaga in the same sentence. Commenting on Gaga’s song ‘Perfect Illusion’ (that our boy Josh plays guitar on) Carney has been quoted as saying: “I’m lost because the guitar at the top of it sounds so shitty...It’s like ‘Eye Of The Tiger’, but not even nearly as good as that. It sounds like Hulk Hogan is playing the fucking guitar.” Gaga was not shy about replying, saying about Carney that, “...he’s not as snarky as I would be, watching him in a guitar death-match w Kevin Parker and Josh Fucking Homme”.
Here’s the video for Gaga’s Perfect Illusion - judge for yourself. All I have to say is that I may have been high when writing this, but I’ve never been quite as high as her shorts are in this video. Somehow this song that involves intense crotch chafing in the desert has over 150 million views.
It is also notable that Mark Ronson and Josh Homme worked on this song together, and that Ronson went on to produce the latest QotSA album Villains.
Their Music
Next Girl - Godzilla looks way fucking bigger in the movies. But man can he sing.
Tighten Up - The most unbelievable thing about this video is that two grown men would be at a children’s playground without Karen calling the cops.
Howlin’ For You - Alexa Wolf: A Sexy Assassin With A Troubled Past. Also, I am pretty fucking sure she is a Cylon. Someone better tell Las Teclas de Negro.
Lonely Boy - Say what you will, but buddy here has some moves.
Gold On The Ceiling - You know the van at 0:08 is an Easter Egg. Blink and you miss it.
Dead and Gone - Just in case you missed it.
Fever - Auerbach looks more strung out here than a busted guitar. The cuts from actual TV Evangelist audience members make this video a bit creepier than it needs to be.
Turn Blue - Watch out for Hypnotoad. Oh SHI~ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD
Just Got to Be - The boys appear to have snuck into a rural elementary school gym to record this video. The song still kicks all kinds of ass.
Lo/Hi - I gotta say, the pink lightning bolt is a nice touch.
Strange Times - Lazer Tag: the game that is never quite as fun as you think it will be.
Your Touch - This video starts with the boys getting shot. Fuck, the mean streets of Akron are WAY tougher than I ever gave them credit for.
Show Them Some Love
/TheBlackKeys - just short of 7,500 members. Maybe if they had made that Mayo ad, more people would be in this subreddit. See, I told you to pay attention! That was totally worth it.
Previous Posts
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The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Black Flag
Alain Johannes
Pixies
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The Black Angels

All the posts on here help me feel like I’m not alone in fighting to keep my Mom from disappearing into the Q abyss, so I decided to share my story.
I’m a 38 year old gay guy. Grew up in a relatively strict middle to upper middle class Irish Catholic household in a smallish central Pennsylvania town. My parents did their best to raise me and my brother to be decent people. They fought like crazy and had their flaws, but they’ve stuck it out and have managed to stay together for 45 years. They accepted my sexuality and my marriage, which is really important to me, and they’ve always been encouraging and supportive to both me and my brother.
Around the middle of the Obama years, I started to notice changes in my parents, particularly my Mom. My parents were never very political. As a kid, I remember them being upset with Desert Storm, and they were Bill Clinton supporters. It was around that time that I learned they were both registered Independents, which wasn’t too surprising, but I also learned that my Mom canvassed for McGovern when she lived in NYC back in the 70’s. She’s a former textile designer, artist and then long time high school art teacher. Her background certainly doesn’t throw up any red flags, but in the early 2010’s, I noticed Fox News on the TVs quite often when I visited. Then the Obama criticism started. At first it was policy based, but then personal criticisms with slight racial undertones began to creep into their comments.
It was about that time that I moved to a predominantly black neighborhood in central Philadelphia. I quickly learned that my upbringing and where I grew up looked nothing like my new surroundings, and I worked hard to become more accepting and adopt a world view. I traveled all over the world and became very much aware of my privilege, and I changed for the better. This time of my life clashed with my parents. My mother is terrified of what she doesn’t know or is unfamiliar with, and she seemed to resent my new world view. Then came the lead up to the 2016 election. That’s when things really went upside down.
My trips to Asia led directly to rants on communism. My love of Europe turned into socialist rants. My love of urban Philadelphia became worries of gang violence, drugs, and “thugs.” I started to distance myself from her, which looking back, may have been the wrong approach. Then the unprovoked forwarded emails from alt-right news sites started appearing in my inbox. I mostly ignored them, but occasionally, they were so offensive that I would reply with a rebuttal and request that she stop sending this garbage. When Trump pulled off the surprise upset, things really solidified. She was validated and became a staunch supporter of the “Drain the Swamp” and “Build the Wall” ideals. This was intolerable, so I started to politely debate her and try to educate and inform. This only angered her. She became cynical, mean spirited, and incredibly negative...about nearly everything. Everything seemed to “disgust” her, and she became some sort of victim in her mind.
The pandemic and the racial injustice uprising of 2020 revealed that Q had entered her life. She flatly denies even knowing what QAnon is, but she can’t talk about any substantive topic without devolving into Q conspiracies. It’s so ingrained that she truly believes it’s reality. My Dad fell for Trump too, but he hasn’t fallen as deep into the hole, and after this weekend, I understand just how far gone she is.
My mother was furious that my brother and I canceled Thanksgiving due to Covid. My parents are both 70, we live in a big dense city, and I truly did not want to risk killing them. She raged over this decision. All the Q tropes were hurled at us. Hoax, fake virus, Nazi Governor Wolf, “crazy trans socialist” Dr. Rachel Levine, it’s all a ploy to indoctrinate socialism, etc. Our genuine concern for their health (and our own) was literally mocked. She was hell bent that socialists and crazy liberals would not derail her Christmas with family. I couldn’t take any more berating, so I agreed to host them for Christmas if they promised to quarantine for 14 days with no exceptions, and we would do the same. She agreed, and they showed up at our house. The first time we’ve seen them in four months.
I was mentally unprepared for her four-day visit. She was downright cynical, mean spirited, nitpicking everyone and everything. She berated my Dad constantly, he was drinking more than normal and seemingly hiding from her. Meals were quiet and tense. It all blew up on Christmas night during dinner. I had had it with her ugliness and everyone was miserable. She picked the wrong time to go after me. I retaliated and really unloaded on her in front of my family. It was visceral, intentionally hurtful, and I would not relent. Afterwards I felt so horrible that I could not sleep and was a wreck.
My husband and I decided that it was time to have an intervention with each of them and make some sort of last effort to form a truce, or it was time to make the heartbreaking decision to cut them off.
I deeply apologized directly to my mother and calmly tried to reason with her. I begged her to please understand that we’re all trying to understand what she’s going through. I explained that she had to understand that this was a critical juncture in our relationship, and that I didn’t want to lose her, but she has to make an effort. She did not budge. Stated that she knew that we all hate her, that we’ve all fallen for the liberal media bullshit, that me and my husband are self righteous neoliberals. I told her that we’re trying so hard and she’s fighting us with nastiness and hate. I even used the Pope’s recent comments to try and reason with her. “He doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about and needs to stay out of American politics.” That signaled me to wrap it up and let her know that I love my mother, I love the person who raised me, and I love all the memories I have of my mother, but that person isn’t sitting in front of me anymore.
I went straight to my Dad in a wreck and deeply upset. The grief and mourning of the conversation with her hit me immediately. I explained to him that this has to stop, and that I’m not like this any time in my daily existence other than when I’m with her. I told him that both their political views are abhorrent, but that I knew he hadn’t fallen as far as her and begged him to make some sort of effort to help save our relationship. He responded completely different from her. He was genuinely moved and even expressed serious concern about what to do about my mother. He admitted that she had deteriorated rapidly during the year, and that she is completely consumed by alt-right internet sites and social media. She doesn’t even leave her bedroom most of the day.
All of this information hit me hard and made me realize how serious and grave this situation had become. Not just for my mom, but for the millions of people falling into this madness and cult of disinformation. My husband kept reiterating that he thought she was acting confused and scared all the time, and that now makes sense. She’s a very well educated, formerly independent woman. Somewhere in her head she realizes that something has gone terribly wrong. She is choosing to keep plowing deeper into this madness.
I made the decision that we’re going to try one last time to tolerate her and not engage in anything to trigger the crazy (both of us). I don’t know how long it will last, but she’s lost to Q as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t think she’s coming back. I’ve been mourning that for the past few days, and it really sucks.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I sincerely hope that our loved ones find a way to break free from this. It’s incredibly painful, and in my opinion, worse than the actual death of the loved one. I told my Dad and husband that it’s like someone murdered my mother, took over her body, and is now torturing us through her physical form. It’s just brutal. Know that there are millions of us going through this. You’re not wrong, and you’re certainly not alone. Don’t be ashamed to talk to friends or a therapist. It’s real trauma and needs to be treated as such.

Previous Discussions

Introduction

This post was collaboratively written by the Anime of the Year Jury of the 2020 /anime Awards. It was also organized, edited and put together by their category host, JoseiToAoiTori. Kaguya-sama Season 2 was chosen by vote for this discussion which isn't fully indicative of its position in the jury's final rankings as each juror's individual perspective is subject to change. Similar perspectives of individual jury members are grouped together for clarity.
Jury Members: ArcaneGarbageman, deafnesss, FrenziedHero, furno5000, hauntmeagain, --Ananas--, MalacostracaFlame, MisterJaguar, Nickknight8, Ok_Structure1319, Patureau, PerfectPublican, rudygnuj, Schinco, ShakespeareInLove (alias), Theleux, Thrasher439

1. Do you think Kaguya-sama significantly reinvents the romcom formula? If not, does it manage to set itself apart from other romcoms?

Familiar formula with brilliant execution

There is an interview with Aka Akasaka, the author of Kaguya-sama, where he stated that he was surprised that so many people were claiming that his work had such a unique concept. He was quite shocked that it hadn't been done before. Kaguya-sama doesn't reinvent the romcom formula in any significant way, nor does it need to. A romcom that wishes to set itself apart would attempt to subvert the viewer's expectations, but Kaguya-sama takes elements that romcom fans are familiar with and turns them up to eleven while being self-aware in doing so. So while Kaguya-sama isn't a particularly unique take on the genre, it's just a solid romcom with a thoughtful story and likable characters. Visually engaging skits allow the show to branch out from its formula and develop the supporting cast. Each character has defining personality traits leading to some well-timed jokes, great reactions and fun character dynamics. The dialogue is sharp, the mind games are entertaining, and the mix of mostly episodic vignettes with plenty of nods and callbacks to previous skits make for a cohesive and entertaining story of adolescent love. Season 2 in particular shifts further away from the unique hook that Season 1 had. It uses the premise as a starting point to create a relatable emotional core in addition to the comedic skits by having the show poke fun at, but also sympathize with teenage problems of building relationships and fitting into social groups. This results in a show that manages to be relatable, funny and charming while sticking to a familiar formula that endears it to many anime fans.

ArcaneGarbageman, deafnesss, FrenziedHero, furno5000, hauntmeagain, --Ananas--, MalacostracaFlame, MisterJaguar, Nickknight8, Patureau, rudygnuj, Theleux, Thrasher439

Reframes the romcom formula in unorthodox ways

Kaguya-sama employs a segmented multi-story episode structure where individual episodes generally have at least 3 standalone vignettes to highlight different character traits or relationship dynamics that build off the assumption that Kaguya and Shirogane like each other but prioritize their pride as individuals over being honest about their emotions. This contrasts most romcoms that employ a single-story episode structure where the main characters eventually acknowledge their feelings for one another, resulting in a major climax. The show also uses tropes generally outside the romcom genre such as the overpowered protagonist and discards frustrating tropes such as misunderstandings and miscommunication as a vehicle for drama. Kaguya-sama's characters are more well-aware of what is going on, and thus the comedy is shifted to be anticipatory rather than reflective. Misunderstandings in Kaguya-sama are framed in a comedic manner and instantly resolved or kept as a running gag. This feels more natural compared to the melodramatic tension they create in other romcoms. The core conceit of the series means that it tries to actively avoid misunderstandings, whereas most romcoms use them to drive and prolong the narrative.
Kaguya and Shirogane are too smart and prideful for their own good, which directly contrasts with dumb and indecisive couples in other romcoms. The slow romantic progression in Kaguya-sama is a natural consequence of the way its characters are fleshed out. The core characters being well-defined allows the show a lot of time to present different worldviews and clash them together in unexpected ways. While most romcoms approach character writing as downstream of the plot's romantic progression, Kaguya-sama utilizes the mind-game and SoL subplots of episode segments to highlight particular aspects of the characters, allowing for insight into the romantic dynamics to be downstream of character writing (e.g. Kaguya's fear of future professional success at the expense of personal happiness in the game of life segment). By achieving standard romcom goals via unorthodox narrative structure and prioritizations, Kaguya-sama reframes the romcom formula if not reinvent it outright.

Ok_Structure1319, PerfectPublican, Schinco, ShakespeareInLove

2. What did you think of the addition of Miko Iino in this season and her overall character arc?

Well done character that integrates awkwardly with the cast

Miko Iino is an interesting foil to the rest of the cast that views rules as morally absolute and demands that people around her respect them as much as she does. She has a good character dynamic with Ishigami because of his blatant disregard of rules, but her place in a lot of skits is largely uninteresting. Most of the time, she's simply walking in on Kaguya and Shirogane at the most inopportune times, a recurring gag that often feels overdone. She isn't as well utilized compared to other cast members, and the joke gets stale really quickly. Past her involvement with the election arc, she is almost purely used for commentary of the other characters. She allows other characters to shine as a straight man to their antics, but her own characterization leaves a lot to be desired. As a result, while she can be considered a good addition to the cast, there's a lot more that can be done with her character.

ArcaneGarbageman, deafnesss, hauntmeagain, MalacostracaFlame, MisterJaguar, Schinco, Theleux

Adds a new layer to the show's character dynamics

Miko Iino adds a new layer to the show's character dynamics that allows for interesting new perspectives. Through her inexperienced lens, the show is able to establish some great character interactions and introduce several well-timed jokes. This prevents the show from getting stale, and her character also juxtaposes well with the established nature of the main group. Iino's no-nonsense approach to the student council is foiled by the frivolous Fujiwara and the blasé Ishigami alongside Kaguya and Shirogane's elaborate schemes. The show demonstrates how Iino's addition to the student council brings out new sides to all characters including Iino throughout the first segment of Episode 8. Iino's flashbacks follow a very interesting visual style of using manga paneling that works well with how she sees herself as the protagonist of a fictional story. Her overall character arc has her grow to become more accepting of the student council's antics as she cheers on Ishigami in the relay race. Her fiery passion for justice is overshadowed by a desire to reciprocate Shirogane and Ishigami's compassion and a desire to coexist with others, creating a clear sense of progression with her character. The climax of the election arc allows her to not only overcome her inability to face a crowd but to also stay true to herself while doing so. All this sense of progression is fully realized in the comedy of her imaginative misunderstandings of the council, finally bringing her in line with their level of immaturity and fully integrating her with the group while letting her growing past her original obstinacy to a position of compromise.
One of the strongest elements of Kaguya-sama's cast is that in addition to the chemistry of the student council, the individual council members each have unique ties to one another, allowing for fun one-on-one scenes between different council members outside of the ensemble skits. In Miko Iino's case, her idolization of Fujiwara, reciprocated disdain for Ishigami, and misunderstanding of Kaguya and Shirogane's relationship all help make her introduction and integration into the cast more organic. There's clear underpinnings for Iino's character to continue to deliver interesting and amusing skits, both vis-à-vis her relationship with Ishigami, her mental image of Kaguya, and her view on relationships in a school environment. Iino's comedic and dramatic sides balance out to create a loveable character that's a joy to watch.

deafnesss, FrenziedHero, furno5000, --Ananas--, Nickknight8, Ok_Structure1319, Patureau, PerfectPublican, rudygnuj, Schinco, ShakespeareInLove, Thrasher439

3. Season 2 of Kaguya-sama had Ishigami undergo a major character arc. What did you think of his characterization and the overall tone shift during his arc?

Dramatic shift helps in characterizing Ishigami

Ishigami's arc is very important for his character as he strives to improve himself. The shift in tone from a light-hearted comedy to a serious character study keeps the season interesting. While the setup is a bit melodramatic with Ogino being almost cartoonishly evil, the actual payoff is done well. Ishigami was first introduced as a fatalist whose dislike of couples belied a repressed longing to be accepted by others. This character arc goes deeper into Ishigami's past, reconciling it with his current self. It shows that Ishigami has always been a good person at heart who made mistakes and ended up as the person he currently is. Despite that, he stays true to what he believes in while still maintaining a desire for self-improvement.
There are interesting parallels with Iino's arc as well. Both are forced to confront who they are and eventually change for the better, with the help of the student council (particularly Shirogane). His background with Shirogane also fleshes out the relationship that they currently have while also being a boon to Shirogane's character. Shirogane pulling Ishigami out of his spiral is on brand with what we've seen of him so far including Iino's arc. Ishigami's character arc is a much needed change of pace that serves to flesh out both him and other characters. With this arc, the show showcases a shift towards a more emotional character study for the student council as a whole, rather than merely focusing on the two leads. It meshes them together as a collective, which expands the comedic and emotional potential for the show greatly.

ArcaneGarbageman, deafnesss, FrenziedHero, furno5000, hauntmeagain, --Ananas--, MalacostracaFlame, MisterJaguar, Ok_Structure1319, Patureau, PerfectPublican, Thrasher439

Occasional missteps in an otherwise great arc

The Ishigami arc is nowhere near bad or mediocre by any means, but it has a lot of issues that are worth mentioning. Content-wise, it helps us understand Ishigami better, but the sudden shift from shenanigans with Shirogane's dad to a plotline involving selling sex is far too abrupt. The arc itself is also quite melodramatic with a cartoonishly evil villain and the overwhelmingly depressive backstory. In contrast, Iino's arc feels more realistic despite being much shorter. It almost feels like an entirely different show with how overdramatic and heavy-handed it gets at times. There's a disconnect between how the show portrays Ishigami's righteous attitude to be the source of his downfall while simultaneously victimizing him and blaming his environment. It can be argued that he didn't do much to earn the support of the people around him, but the end result for his character is a net positive change regardless.

Nickknight8, rudygnuj, Schinco, ShakespeareInLove, Theleux

4. What do you think of this season from an audiovisual perspective?

Creative visuals and excellent voice acting elevate the show to new heights

Kaguya-sama Season 2 is a leap forward visually. In contrast with Season 1, which was more conservative with its visual direction, Mamoru Hatakeyama and the show's staff take a more experimental approach in Season 2 that helps amplify the execution of the joke punchlines. Aspect ratio changes, a dolly zoom, strong compositions, inventive storyboards and comic book sequences constitute a lot of risk with good payoff. Kaguya-sama Season 2 generally showcases a strong understanding of framing and screen composition, and it helps that this aspect adds to the comedy. There are a lot of visual cues/metaphors which tie in with the gags to make them even more hilarious and highlight how strong directing can do wonders for the comedy. Episode 7 features a rookie director, Aya Ikeda, and an experienced Josei muke animatodesigner, Takahiro Yasuda. Through their carefully woven efforts, they do a great job of playing on shoujo manga tropes. A joke like this could have easily fallen flat without the care and attention it received, and that's a testament to how important visuals are in Kaguya-sama. The way that emotions are displayed throughout the season is done quite well, with highlights being Fujiwara's cold face when Shirogane gets Kaguya to teach him the Soran dance, the framelacing of Chika's face when she's smug, and the cartoonish and childlike nature of Kaguya's emotional side during the court session in her head. There is a sense of activity with everything that never makes it feel dull to look at. This scene in Episode 5 is one such example.
Episode 9 is a highlight in terms of the use of various art styles as seen during Miko Iino ranting about the nature of the student council and her dream as well as the 'fight scene' between Kaguya and Shirogane. From using Peanuts style animation, to highlighting Iino's growing frustration, to using an old school fighting game overlay to represent who is more emotionally stable when Shirogane confronts Kaguya, this episode highlights how flexible and creative the art of the show can be. Season 2 also continues its approach to things like varied backgrounds (such as black and white spirals) and facial close-ups during internal monologues with some dynamic camera movement (such as the opening shot that moves from the school's roof to the upside-down Hayasaka). The use of chiaroscuro scene lighting produces an ethereal tone during the nirvana segment in Episode 1 and in Ishigami and Iino's flashbacks. There's a good balance between zany and creative visuals as well as moody and dramatic visuals in the appropriate places. The show consistently uses whimsical animation, bending character designs, interesting character perspectives and varied colour schemes to its benefit.
The voice cast has also gotten more comfortable with their roles, which keeps their performances natural. Individual voice actors have great chemistry with each other and have fun with their roles. Aoi Koga's performance during the game of life segment in Episode 1 is a highlight. The fourth wall breaks are also elevated by the the sound such as Hayasaka sliding Kaguya's volume during her rant. There are some standout tracks on the OST but Shippai stands out in particular as a really energetic song. The OST as a whole often utilizes tonally contradicting tracks to complement the visuals for greater comedic effect. However, the real stars of the show are still the voice actors including the newcomer, Miyu Tomita, who voices Miko Iino. Special praise should also be given to Yumiri Hanamori (Hayasaka's VA) who knocks it out of the park in one of the year's most stellar performances.

ArcaneGarbageMan, deafnesss, FrenziedHero, furno5000, --Ananas--, MisterJaguar, Nickknight8, Ok_Structure1319, Patureau, PerfectPublican, rudygnuj, ShakespeareInLove, Thrasher439

Minor issues still persist in both visuals and audio

Kaguya-sama Season 2 is a major step up in the audiovisual department compared to Season 1, but a lot of its attempts at creativity are just there for the sake of it rather than being truly motivated towards evoking something specific. Some of the visual gags don't quite hit, lacking the necessary impact. In the Bakemonogatari reference, there is a lack of context behind what information it's trying to convey, which makes the whole gag come across as a bit hollow. Design-wise, there’s a bit too much of a delta between the most basic designs like Ishigami and the more exotic ones like Kei. In motion, there's a tendency for the characters to look a touch too flat or generic. Awkward CG crowds often stand out in sequences that don't have anything going on. Audio-wise, it's quite average. The over-the-top orchestral tunes do a good job at complementing the comedy, but the rest of the OST is fairly run-of-the-mill. However, these issues don't do much to detract from the moments where the audio and visuals are used brilliantly.

hauntmeagain, MisterJaguar, Nickknight8, Schinco, Theleux

5. What do you think of the romantic progression in Season 2?

Frustrating and contrived

The romantic progression in Kaguya-sama Season 2 is frustrating. There are multiple points with varying degrees of directness where the series could choose to progress the romance and reinvent itself while shaking up the character interactions, but it chooses not to. Season 1 ended on a big fireworks scene that signified a new chapter of Kaguya and Shirogane's relationship, but Season 2 fails to convey that progress. It doesn't help that Fujiwara and Iino are often used to interfere with Kaguya and Shirogane's more intimate moments and reset all accumulated progress. Kaguya and Shirogane themselves are often unreasonable and downright stupid at times for the sake of comedy. When a character is lampshading about how little progress there is in the show's primary relationship, it means something isn't right. Overall, this season does a good job at fleshing out side characters but not much in the way of romantic progression.

Schinco, ShakespeareInLove

Naturally paced romantic developments

Season 2 of Kaguya-sama moves away from the psychological warfare segments to include more moments of Kaguya and Shirogane trying to understand each other rather than defeat the other in a battle of wits. Moments like the stargazing scene, Kaguya giving Shirogane a birthday gift, meeting his dad, and almost kissing Shirogane in the storage room signal some solid progression. Kaguya's love sickness also implies that her feelings are gradually growing more intense. The confession in front of the school implies that nerves rather than pride are a bigger factor in keeping them from confessing. All of this is notable progress because it shows that Kaguya and Shirogane are more open and accepting of their feelings and desire for connectivity. These moments lay out the groundwork for their relationship to evolve even though a major portion of the season focuses on fleshing out side characters. In fact, the show is conscious that the romantic progression is comparatively slow, as many of Hayasaka's gags as well as recurring characters like Kashiwagi and Tsubasa are entirely predicated on the slow progression of Kaguya and Shirogane's relationship, which only works in the show's favour as the baseline for many jokes. Kaguya-sama has never really set expectations for its own progression because of its focus on comedy, and it's arguable that the show even needs much of it.

ArcaneGarbageman, deafnesss, FrenziedHero, furno5000, hauntmeagain, --Ananas--, MalacostracaFlame, MisterJaguar, Nickknight8, Ok_Structure1319, Patureau, PerfectPublican, rudygnuj, Theleux, Thrasher439

With this post, each jury has successfully participated in the "/anime Awards Jury Discusses" project. We hope these posts offered some insight into the Awards process and made for good reads. Initial Public voting for the Awards will open on January 1 and stay open for a week.
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[Video Games/Rollercoaster Tycoon] Theme Park Studio: How a developer set exceedingly high expectations and failed to meet them

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