Post set to be published on:June 28, 2025 First compiled on: February 14, 2026 Last modified on: April 28, 2026 (prior to actual publication) First completed on: August 1, 2026 (actual publication) Written content in this post updated on: September 2, 2026
(If you have a short reading attention span, feel free to just skip to the actual ranking, which you'd have to click into the blog post to view >:3)
This particular blog post is to first document what was actually published in 2023.
Note: Notice two font sizes below? The regular size matching this sentence and paragraphs above, are my makeup work for before. The smaller size (like this) are the ones that are posted extremely closed to, if not in fact on the exact published date. Those, should there actually be casual viewers of my blog, are hard to miss, since the Blog Archive function reflects them quite well, and the backdated ones are what easily gone unnoticed, hence the emphasis.
Finally, a Year End Recap post that's published on time!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay, me! That said, as this is the one post per year you'd get more of my personal life, I'll still share the gist of my year:
For my traumatic experience at the end of 2022, please do check 2022 Year End Recap for references. The crisis carried over to the start of 2023, but I was lucky enough to secure my second stable full-time job by the first week of the year. To me, it's a pretty intense post, a government job with wayyyyyyyy heavier responsibilities. I do like the job though, there's a real sense of fulfillment, just that there would be periods with super heavy workload, so 2023 was basically used to get the hang of what the busy seasons are and what not; the first half of the year, my personal time is greatly decreased due to increase work time.
It should be noted that, with absolute lack of communicating effort on Goodreads' part, my Goodreads Librarian status was revoked on late May. Yes, they gave me a very, VERY unspecific reply about which edit was the cause, the thing is, they said "the edit you did to this series", I made TONS of edits on the series they named (all different types of edits, obviously), they couldn't even be bothered to specify the exact type of action they found violating. And I said lack of effort because it's the fact, I wrote back to them for clarification, and that was what they replied, the initial revoke message didn't even say a specific series or book; the second and final reply, aside the vague AF info, they also literally told me that was the end of the discussion. I did write back again hoping to get a real clarification, but they ignored me and I'm just like, well, it's your lost and my gain.
I said it's GR's lost, not out of narcissistic tendencies, but the fact that GR has no real idea that, beyond the mainstream popular books, so so SOOOOOOOO many books on the site had data need fixing, and even the popular books don't always get 100% correct info, and they won't miraculously correct themselves. One less GR Librarian equals one less person helping out, it's as simple as that. Ironically, by late June, GR's bot literally went batshit crazy and started doing questionable actions en mass. My other account (used for manga and other visual-heavy books) was deeply affected, with over a hundred books switching to editions I did not intend to shelf. It was a nightmare, and it honestly made me loathe the site just a little. While there are some obvious cons for loosing the Librarian status, I suppose the only one that'd affect this blog, is that I no longer can update posts immediately upon my discovery of new things, as GR may not have the pages or the pages have false data and cannot be fixed on spot. It's honestly not a big deal, I just feel a little sorry, having to send in requests for stuff to be fixed, whereas previously I'd just fix it on my own. (FYI, there's a chance I'll have a separate post detailing the matter, but until then, I'm covering the gist here.)
Oh, so like, end of unhappy business. One of the highlights of 2023, to me is that, woo-hoo, I finally met up with some book-loving people I've known via the Net, the people who were very understanding and supportive during my 2022-year-end-ordeal. Listing in the order of first time meeting in person: Sabrina, Amethyst, Amesily, and the most recent addition, Emily, it was so nice to meet you cool people! We should definitely meet up once in a while, if any thing, HAVE ICE CREAM, if not hanging out at bookstores discussing books lmao.
Okay, I know it wasn't obvious, seeing that the above section is considerably shorter than what the year before had (and may get even shorter should I finish compiling what happened with GR on a separate post), but I had in fact been busier in 2023 due to RL responsibilities; I think I'm more or less prepared for next year though, so my reading and blog posts ideally wouldn't be so unevenly distributed, fingers crossed.
Anyways, as of 2023/12/31, according to the Blog Archive function, I have 15 posts published in 2023 (not counting this one). That one particular post that was more than 90% done back in 2021, still couldn't make it in 2023. I really hope I can get it out by the first quarter of 2024 though! That, along with a couple of other non-Series-Overview posts. Wish me luck! lol
It's because of 2023's unusual circumstances that resulted in the first part being larger than usual. I hope people are patient enough to reach this part, lmao. On Goodreads, there's the My Year in Books function they provided that give some statistics, [check out mine for 2023!] (My GR profile is set for GR Users only, so this one, you'd have to login in order to view.) There's also the Goodreads Year in Review, [read mine!] (no GR account required.)
So what's different here is that I'm going to rank what I've read, but limited to series that concluded or standalones, extras, and compilations published in this year. 2023 does not make a great example but it's better than having nothing lol. And, ladies and gents, drum roll....!
(If you have a short reading attention span, feel free to just skip to the actual ranking, which you'd have to click into the blog post to view >:3)
This particular blog post is to first document what was actually published in 2022.
Note: Notice two font sizes below? The regular size matching this sentence and paragraphs above, are my makeup work for before. The smaller size (like this) are the ones that are posted extremely closed to, if not in fact on the exact published date. Those, should there actually be casual viewers of my blog, are hard to miss, since the Blog Archive function reflects them quite well, and the backdated ones are what easily gone unnoticed, hence the emphasis.
That said, while I did studiously track all my post, sadly, this very post itself is once again actually published later, in 2023, and again backdated. And I'll explain to you the unfortunate reason as to why:
I was doing so very well, and this post had the chance to actually be published on time. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Check 2021 Year End Recap for references. In short, 2022 was the year I got my very first stable full-time job. For people who know me and read my updates on social media in another language, it's not a secret that to me it's a bittersweet post. I like the job itself (as a Librarian), but including myself, it was just a team of three Librarians in my branch and I had one quite subpar coworker (let's call her Ms. A), so as time went by, I have to say, I did get quite fed up with constantly having to clean up after mistakes, either caused by incompetence or miscommunications.
Ms. A's then-upcoming departure (2022/10/24, though that was her day off, so her last day was actually 2022/10/23) was made known on 2022/10/6, thus my then-boss had to interview candidates for the vacancy. Suffice to say it wasn't a popular job, so we didn't exactly get a crapload of people to choose from, and the clock was ticking.
A new coworker (Ms. A's 1st replacement) started on October 24, and my other remaining colleague (let's call her Ms. B, who was truly a lifesaver) and I tried our best to catch said person up to speed, and just when we were done, evidently it was too much for that person, and she informed us of her resignation on 2022/10/30. (For those who are wondering, at that point she's worked for just 5 days.) So it was back to square one, more interviews for my then-boss.
We got our 2nd new coworker (Ms. A's 2nd replacement, let's call her Ms. C) on November 2, and I won't dwell on how utterly a horrible fit this Ms. C is to the job, it's not worth it. Like the previous newcomer, C was also very slow to learn, and there were other issues.
During this period, Ms. B found a better job and her last day was to be November 23. I was eventually left to deal with two newbies, with the newer newcomer (Ms. B's replacement, let's call her Ms. D) also turning out to not be a quick learner.
Both Ms. C & D made A LOT OF mistakes by the start of December; D just joined so it was easier to cut her some slack, but C had been working for a month by then, it was ridiculous, so for my own sanity I called her out on it, and boy did she not take it well, throwing a tantrum, also announcing her "apparent" resignation on December 6, with her "supposed" last day to be December 16. Around a week after C's inappropriate behavior, she meekly admitted that she'd be staying after all.
I won't waste more swears on this; to sum up, C is a backstabber and my former boss is a dick. I'm totally cool with saying this publicly, as I have nothing to hide. I'm contract-based, and it's a yearly contract. My then-boss decided to not renew mine, and it was her decision, but she didn't have the decency to admit it, and tried to make it as if my company was the one who came up with this idea. If I had to guess, my then-boss probably made up her mind when C threw that tantrum, but I would never know for sure.
It was purely accidental that I had things to discuss with my HR on December 19 that the HR brought up the topic, and informed me that my contract won't be renewed.And the actual confirmation that this was nonnegotiable, was on December 21. By then I only had two off-days left, my last day of work was to be December 31. I was left in an incredibly shitty situation, with my off-days fixed and with absolutely no way to get extra days off to be interviewed.
And wasn't that just hella stressful and dramatic? My entire family's Christmas was ruined because I was facing the unknown and very likely would become jobless at the start of the upcoming year. But I'm here, which means I'm obviously in an okay enough state to be able to do this. I won't bore you with the blow-by-blow details, but yes, I do have bragging rights, and I would love to shove it in the faces of those who wronged me, but as time is too precious for continuing insignificant anger, this will do. By December 27, I actually pretty much secured two job offers, which are both superior in various ways comparing to what my then-current Librarian job had to offer. But I wanted to be sure and not just take whatever that'd have me on the spot.
By 2023/01/04, another one was in the bag, with one just as close, with its final interview scheduled on January 7. I also had three other interviews scheduled. On January 5, I went to one that we (as in my family and I myself) all thought I had little chance of actually getting, as it's again government environment but much more serious, with heavier responsibilities, comparing to working at a branch of our capital's public library. We were wrong. I got the offer two hours after the interview, and started working the very next day.
Okay, so in case it wasn't obvious. While I had reasonably become busier in 2022 due to RL responsibilities, it wasn't until October that it went downhill, and mind you, I was even relatively coping, managing to still bust out some blog posts by mid November, but December was just hell.
I know, from all the statements above, it could easily look like "I was the actual problematic person thus had to be let go", but lmao, I really wasn't, and that's the only reason why I'm able to laugh it off, because the way my former boss handled that branch was just, immature and very amateur. Believe me when I say, my remaining reading plans for 2022 went to dust that last month thanks to my last job. I'm not going to lie, we (my family and I) all agree that, lol, ultimately, I have my then-boss to thank, because I ended up in a much, much, better place. BUT, that was not at all her intention. She really could have handled it more professionally and gracefully, with her way there's just no respect to give, as she deserves none.
Anyways, as of 2023/05/27, according to the Blog Archive function, I have 8 posts published in 2022, none at this point were backdated, and I did try to maintain being productive. That one particular post that was more than 90% done back in 2021, still couldn't make it in 2022, hopefully I could manage to get it out in 2023. Spoilers alert, because of my RL job, 2023's post def. won't be as lengthy as this one! Fingers crossed there'd be no more drama! lol
It's because of 2022's unusual circumstances that resulted in the first part being rather large. I hope people are patient enough to reach this part, lmao. On Goodreads, there's the My Year in Books function they provided that give some statistics, [check out mine for 2022!] (My GR profile is set for GR Users only, so this one, you'd have to login in order to view.) There's also the Goodreads Year in Review, [read mine!] (no GR account required.)
So what's different here is that I'm going to rank what I've read, but limited to series that concluded or standalones, extras, and compilations in this year and the year before. Notice how 2022 is the first year to differ from other Year End Recap posts? Yup, it's because I fear there'd be no point of making a ranking list had I not included the two-year duration from the start. And, ladies and gents, drum roll....!
Whelp, this would be the very first blog post with a title that basically is entirely in Chinese; the post is to sum up some of my observations and confusions regarding to manga publishing (licensed from Japan) in Taiwan. For English readers, it's likely irrelevant to you, so I figured the title probably should be more obviously noticeable to people who actually may be of interest of the subject. I've originally compiled what I found "odd" in my personal Facebook status post, but the more I thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed to me, so I decided to share it on a public platform to see if other people have any idea of why the situation is like that.
For people who don't necessarily understand Chinese, but can deduct info by formatting and partial information (such as ISBN), "民國" is the official way of displaying years in Taiwan, which I personally is now somewhat less familiar with but is what the ISBN site uses. 民國year 108 = 2019.
Formatting, references, and content are still WIP! lol Would like to eventually provide screenshots of my findings. (I've Googled the following ISBNs and got no results; the website is built in a way that will not generate unique urls, so the Wayback Machine cannot be used. Without proof, it'd almost seem like I'm making up those data, which, let's face it, there's not enough time for me to indulge in this kind of meaningless make-believes. o___O)
This particular blog post, unlike the rest of its type, does not have the usual first part that documents what was supposedly published here on this blog in 2018, because I literally published nothing; I don't believe I even drafted anything. There are several reasons for this, and while to the (yet-to-be-confirmed) casual blog viewers here, I'm probably this really vague blob of something lmao (since there's hardly any personal info), I'ma share a little to give at least parts of the picture:
Had to retire my iPhone 4S at some point after Feburary due to battery health. Not a fun thing to get used to, when the nature of syncing was no longer the same, and couldn't access my iTunes stuff because it's on an even older device that isn't worth upgrading. It was also because of this device-switch that prevented me from accessing my NetGalley ARCs via my phone. I used to be able to cram in some books over time as I commuted back and forth from home to school, and could no longer do so.
My MacBook Pro had recurring issue since it was getting old.
Walked my commencement ceremony on May 10. For most people like myself, we all still had classes! It was sad in a way that my parents flew all the way to attend, and we barely had time to spend together. When not in class, I was in the Mac Lab taking full advantage, since my device just couldn't handle the workload. That said, the environment there was helpful.
You thought I'd be free after the semester ended? Nah, I walked first, and still had classes during Summer semester. Then my school did this rediculous thing, reducing Lab opening hours for Summer, making life hard. Had to borrow my sister's HP, which is even more ancient than my unstable MacBook Pro.
One of my classes didn't work out, so I was still in school during Fall. Both my laptop and the HP refused to cooperate not long after the semester started. My laptop did die at one point, and I think the recovery was unable to retrieve my iBooks bookmarks, highlights etc. This likely further contributed to my hiatus here on this blog, because one of the books I read had enough material for [Food in Books] and the data was just all gone so.
I know I was still taking advantage of the Lab at least on December 19, because that was the rare moment I actually posted something on my social media. I remember working to the very last day of the semester though. FYI, it wasn't just this blog, I was honestly quiet in 2018 on Facebook, too.
Not to be misleading, I did have another hobbie that kept me entertained during this stressful year, I played Hogwarts Mystery.
This very post itself, is, unsurprisingly, actually published in 2021 and backdated. Looking back though, I'm glad everything adds up, as in, it really wasn't like I picked hobbies over my future. I'm able to recount the above because that really was the gist of my life in 2018. Might sound a bit depressing, but the important part is that it's over lol. I did successfully get my diploma, hehe. And that's like the biggest glimpse of myself I ever revealed here on this blog, other than the "About Moi" post, haha.
Anyhow, here comes the second purpose of the post, muahaha. On Goodreads, there's the My Year in Books function they provided that give some statistics, [check out mine for 2018!] (My GR profile is set for GR Users only, so this one, you'd have to login in order to view.) There's also the Goodreads Year in Review, [read mine!] (no GR account required.) I only whipped up the latter after I finished putting together the one for 2019! Really wasn't kidding about being busy.
So what's different here is that I'm going to rank what I've read, but limited to series that concluded or standalones, extras, and compilations published in this year. The amount of books I've read published the same year made it enough for a fun ranking. Ladies and gents, drum roll....!
Note: First books of series represent said entire series. I know the cut-off was the final book, but I believe people are usually more familiar with the cover and title of first installments so.
In case people don't feel like counting, there are 15 series and standalones in total. That said, there's at least 2 series that, as of 2021/4/12, I have yet to have time shelving. The list may eventually be updated. The reason why some have been stacked, is because, 1 per slot made the ranking list lengthy, which in itself isn't too big of a deal, however, I feel bad for the ones closer to the bottom. It really wasn't like "it's the second to the last place"; trust me, certain gaps are super huge. Since it's still not reflecting well enough, I figure grouping what I feel the similar amount of like, would make me feel less guilty, haha. There you have it!
What series concluded or standalone published in 2018 do you like the most? Feel free to share!
Post set to be published on: March 30, 2017 Last modified on: April 18, 2017 (prior to actual publication) First completed on: September 27, 2020 (actual publication) Written content in this post updated on: September 28, 2020
Hi there! Again with another unusual dates to list at the above. I'm going to be completely honest here, everything below this first paragraph, sans the documentation of the Finale aka EP 8, had been last touched on 2017/04/18, as in, I was literally one episode short of finishing this blog post at least as of that day, for I very may well have actually been done by 2017/03/30, and just found some typos to correct. It'd remain a mystery and not of particular importance anyways lol. I think you can tell that by doing this comparison blog post, I became rather worked up lmao. The J-drama adaptation did add quite a huge chunk of backstory, which unfortunately to me was fairly off-putting, to the point that I never finished the final episode, until 2020/09/27, that is lol. Also note that, circumstances have changed during the timespan: When I first watched the show (EPs 1-7,) the 2nd installment of the novel series had not been translated into a language I understand, the publisher even told me there wasn't plan for it when I asked them on 2017/03/24. I belatedly realized sometime in 2019 that it had in fact been published in late 2018, and later went reading it. I felt it necessary to list out "first completed on," because what I'm sending out first would contain speculative statements I now can verify, just haven't gotten around to doing so. Letting this post continue to sit as draft isn't accomplishing anything, especially when I still find what I wrote entertainingly hilarious, and I honestly want people to read this breakdown lol. When I do get to update, you'll likely see cross-outs of statement, and probably sentences in another color or highlighted, to indicate they are not a part of the original draft. Reminder: Everything below, excluding the documentation of the Finale aka EP 8, was last touched on 2017/04/18:
The J-drama actually adapted stories from both books 1 and 2 (鴨川食堂 & 鴨川食堂おかわり.) To be honest, I'm slightly confused as to why NHK BSプレミアム (flagship of the J-drama) thought it was necessary to swap around the order of the stories. I suppose it didn't matter that much, but I do vaguely remember that, in the novel, they'd sometimes drop statements such as how much money the previous cases surprisingly earned, so there most likely will be some very minor difference between the show and canon in that area, since the chronological order is different in both media.
Also, the wall of the hallway connecting the restaurant to its stairway, displays illustrations and notes of what can be presumed to be the cases Koishi and her father have solved. As early as EP 1, several dish that seemed to be taken from canon already appeared on the wall, including dish that could possibly be from the 5th story of book 2 and the 5th story of book 3 (鴨川食堂いつもの.) Since neither of those books have been translated in a language I can thoroughly understand (at the moment), I cannot confirm if they are precisely the same canon dish, only that the same type of dish are indeed found in canon.
During EP 2 (said dish also appeared in EP 1,) a close-up on the wall revealed a dish that highly resembled what's featured in the 3rd story of book 1, which apparently was not adapted into the series. I wonder why they chose to omit that particular story? Seems like a perfect waste of given source material, unless they find the plot utterly boring, which was why they turned it into a pre-exsisting case instead?
(Side-note: Ironically, after looking through the quotes taken from that particular case, I realized, it is in fact the only case I could not remember the backstory for the dish...)
Not sure if they would do more seasons (since there're also more books,) but if they do, they'd better remember not to use the skipped stories, otherwise it'd either be admitting the show not airing in chronological order, or a production error.
I will probably have to eventually borrow the novel again. Sometimes it was less obvious to me who was investigating and who was preparing the food. Noting the J-drama version for now.
The 1st episode is adapted from the 6th story of book 1.
Food investigated and mainly prepared by Nagare. Koishi helped grinding the carrots.
The 2nd episode is adapted from the 4th story of book 1.
Food investigated by both Nagare and Koishi. Unsure who prepared the dressing. Koishi took care of the fried pork.
The 3rd episode is adapted from the 5th story of book 1.
Food investigated by Koishi, though she lucked out by encountering a kid who also wanted to go to the same restaurant, and who just so happened to carry a keychain provided by the said restaurant. Unsure who prepared the food.
The clues for this dish was definitely changed; there was no mention of the giant red bottle. The explanation of what kind of pasta the client actually ate was also shortened to basically not being informative.
Nagare's deduction as to why the client, Asuka, thought the particular dish was most memorable, was also omitted.
In the novel, Nagare suspected it was the first time the then-5-year-old Asuka got to have her own meal and not having to share it with grownups; it was a sign as recognizing her as an individual.
Note: I do not remember if Asuka herself was the one that admitted it being the first time she got to eat her own dish, but Nagare definitely concluded why he thought she'd hold the specific memory most dearly.
I think they also followed up on what happened to the grandpa after he ate the food in question (don't remember it from the novel). I also think the show gave us additional details on the characters, for I honestly don't remember knowing the family members' occupations.
The 4th episode is adapted from the 1st story of book 1.
Food investigated and mainly prepared by Nagare. Koishi helped finishing the final steps.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this episode contains a hella lot of original backstories, unless they are adapted from scenes from the sequel books I haven't read.
I honestly do not remember Koishi's grandpa (who had already been mentioned a few times in previous episodes, and none of the times jogged any memory.)
I was completely unaware that Nagere and Koishi's mother, (Kikuko? Unsure of the romaji), separated on unhappy terms? I was simply under the impression that the mom unfortunately died. Not sure where this subplot is going. Not sure if I just somehow overlooked it in canon, or if it's just artistic license on the show's part.
I also do not remember the client, Nagare's ex-collegue, had informed him that apparently someone he put in jail (10 years ago) is now free. The tone of the show suddenly became unnecessarily dark, with the said ex-convict (identity confirmed in the next episode) lurking in the dark outside the restaurant at the end of this episode.
First published on: September 20, 2014 Post duplicated on: May 4 - May 19, 2016 (+ new content) Post duplication updated on: October 17, 2018 Written content here updated on: September 12, 2020
Hi, so, while this blog post is labeled as being published on 2014/9/20, if anyone actually does look through my blog, one'd know that the blog itself was only put back into use in late 2016, meaning, everything that's said to have been published before that, while true (correct published dates, just published elsewhere,) are republished here much later.
Normally it wouldn't matter that much, but for certain things, it's quite awkward for me to newly post something with dated comments, which is why that, though I'm overall still quite smug about how I put thought into this post, comments like "hopefully such and such can happen in later series" would obviously feel dated, especially when succeeding installments have come to past, making me feel like I should also update my thoughts on the matter etc., and that's why even though I have a strong opinion about the matter, I hadn't worked on relocating the content onto my blog until now, 2020/9/9, as I type this.
Looking back, the updated content (in my second location posting this) still contained the wording "WIP" and it has been almost 2 years since I last touched it. I suppose I really could go on and on, but I think what I had there was fair enough. I have no set date on when to completely migrate the content, but when it's done, I'd def. make it known lol. This is also hopefully the last time I'd be duplicating the post. The second location, while to me, very convenient for formatting and linking and basically anything you can think of, at the end of the day, has the risk of being deleted by someone else. Not saying it's going to happen anytime soon (or even at all,) but if I'm going to have a backup, might as well start sooner than later.
I'm done with first round of relocation (along with completing the last few touch-ups I meant to finish years ago,) but after being somewhat removed from my "phase," I see that adding updated opinions on the then-future installments, (that, and references on older ones,) made this blog post rather really lengthy. At first I contemplated on splitting the "solutions" into their own separate posts, but while it's still a possible approach, I realized I may very well just have posts for films I do have somthing to say, albeit not as creative as I do this one lol. Again, I don't have an estimation for when it'd be done, so just really want this to be out there first. Characters with images for the solutions were what I left unfinished in the second posted location, and if you get to reading that far, you'd notice it's not showing all the candidates; this is because, after posting out those ideas, a few years later, I've made elimination for ones that have multiple options; those, I'd like to share my new thoughts as well, like, when this post is really done being splitted. Comments are always welcome as long as they are relavant.
The following content was originally posted on September 20, 2014 at 1:23pm on my Facebook Note under the title Thoughts on X-Men: Days of Future Past; at the time I haven't joined [the second place I've posted this], but since I'm obviously [there] now and am more familiar with wikitext, I might as well tweak what I wrote and post it [there].
Please note that I do know the film adaptation (if you can still call it as such) is NOT meant to be exactly the same as the comics, and at this point I've given up all hopes for 20th Century Fox to remotely rectify their choice of direction, but it doesn't mean I can't "wish" what they "could have done."
Also please note that my knowledge towards X-Men and related X-titles is limited to publications during 1990-2015.
Content NOT originated from my initial FB note (aka brand NEW rant), are the updates and thoughts on X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut, which is written in this green color.
Overview
I decided to write this overdue 'overview' aka 'how-it-would-have-made-more-sense-and-better rant'.
First of all, I don't think it's a bad movie, I just don't think it's the most awesome sh*t. I think it is a tad bit overrated on Rotten Tomatoes.
Yes, I've started reading the comics, but I didn't have so much to say only because of it; even judging the movie alone, I still like the first 3 better than this one! A lot of dialogs just seemed forced, and a lot of fight scenes just seemed unnecessary. But I'm not going in to all that. I simply feel that the character selection itself if chosen better, would have helped pleasing the people who would like to get into X-Men even more, or the people who also read the comics. I've always felt this way, even before actually reading the comics. I watched the film versions, liked the characters, looked them up, and then got disappointed when their origins or relationships with each other were way off the mark from the original material. This movie had tons of opportunities to adapt canon character relationship continuity, and missed.
The Rogue Cut
If you have not watched this cut, you probably should avoid reading this section.
I'm not sure if this is the popular belief, but contrary to it, The Rogue Cut is NOT all about Rogue. While she's definitely more relevant to the story than her other version was to the theatrical release, she was still by no means the center of this alternative timeline.
It surprisingly does not change my overall opinion towards the film; and make no mistakes, there's actually several subtle and not so subtle differentiations with the changes of cuts they decided to use, but the undertone of either versions of X-Men: Days of Future Past to me is always like this:
"They thought the future was horrible so they wanted to go back and change it, but no matter what they do, there's always factors that deeply effected and altered the future in a way they weren't prepared for at all."
So regardless of what goes in between, the outcome was relatively the same. In the end the dystopian type future was in a way prevented, and members of previously deceased X-Men were alive, like Jean and Scott. The end.
"They told me you can control metal, my mom once knew a guy who could do that"
But then isn't that catering to the comic/cartoon fans, who do know Pietro Maximoff is in fact Magneto's son? (By the way, they couldn't even keep his actual name; why changing it to Peter? Does that HELP?) Seriously, other than the easter egg, why him? Why pick him when it was confirmed this character would also be in MCU's Avengers: Age of Ultron?
The hairstyle Actor Evan Peters had in the film imo was actually pretty close to Jean-Paul's (just different hair color,) and I don't believe Pietro ever had his hair like that; not to mention Northstar actually does wear those glasses/goggles whereas Quicksilver mostly does not. It would have also been nice for he would have been the first homosexual mutant on screen (I'm pretty sure Mystique can only be counted as bisexual at this point.)
Sure, the characteristic might be way off, as Northstar's pretty uptight and stern, but seeing that they made silly and humorous characters (Iceman and Beast) serious and calm, I honestly wouldn't mind an OOC adaption for this case.
Rogue being cut
TBH, IMO, the so-called Rogue Cut still isn't Rogue enough.
While I've come to accept that Fox's Rogue would possibly never become the spunky southern belle who'd use endearments like "sugar" to placate people, the character treatment again left a lot more to be desired. Let me be perfectly clear, the most vocalized problem with this version of Rogue I saw on the Internet, is mostly about how Anna Paquin sucks at delivering the strong female character the fans love. I think it's safe to say that Fox's version of Rogue is basing on a combination of Rogue herself, Jubilee, and Shadowcat... So fans should already know NOT to only compare Rogue's film version to her other counterparts, but factoring the various versions of the other two characters as well. I mean, let's be real; even the Eartch-616 one alone, when handled by different writers, could cause fans to debate whether they thought she was acting OOC; so how is it fair to judge a portrayal that had even more material to pick and choose from?
So yeah, my point is, while I, like most people, do love the sassy outspoken Rogue, I'm wise enough to not get all upset about not getting what I love, because I've already accepted that Fox's Rogue just has a different temperament. What I am actually upset about though? Like probably the second most raised criticism... Fox's crew just either don't know how or don't care to utilize the character to its full potential. What am I talking about? Fans voiced their disappointment about Rogue not having the notable ability of Superhuman Strength and Flight.
Some "smarter" fans pointed out those specific powers would be tricky to explain, as in canon they were from Carol Danvers aka (then-)Ms. Marvel, and Fox does not own the film right of that character. Some even smarter fans would then point out, since when have we seen a superhero film adaptation completely following its source material anyways? The first real failure Fox did to their Rogue, was how they treated her in X-Men: The Last Stand (and no, just to be clear, I actually do not hate that film.) Don't get me wrong, I think it's completely understandable that she would want to be "cured" (I've always wonder what's ver.Earth-616's take on the matter) seeing that at the time she still had no control over her power. BUT, I really don't think you can deny that... That film is virtually the most crowded film featuring crapload of mutants. A lot of people have commented that, while not enjoying her powers, Rogue seriously could have grabbed a bunch of individuals during the final showdown, and consequently gaining the well-recognized Superhuman Strength and Flight etc. from different mutants.
Like I stated below, personally I honestly don't see the significance of Bishop's role; they could have just used Rogue as one of the main fighters. WIP.
X-Men's roster in the dystopian future
Breakdown
The future recruits are just such a mismatch! (Judging from the canon perspective, that is.) Let's see:
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants → X-Men → Avengers Unity Division
Side note: I formatted Rogue's name differently from the others because she is definitely first and foremost known as Rogue; "Anna Marie" was revealed/added MUCH LATER.
For the new characters, Sunspot and Warpath kind of have just a little to do with each other, but throw in the other two, the four almost just seemed like random picks. And I HAVE TO mention, Kitty's power to send people's mind back is just complete bull crap; I'm not even saying this basing from the comics or cartoons, for 3 movies all she could do is PHASING! Her explanation is not an explanation as to how the eff she could do it, throwing in the term Secondary Mutation could have slightly save it, but they didn't, so Ima insist adding just one more telepathic-ish character in all the fixes.
Just to be clear; I do know that prior to The Rogue Cut, Rogue does have a cameo in the theatrical release, but that's the thing! Her appearance was indeed nothing more than a mere cameo, which was why although definitely qualified as "old characters", I did not initially include her in the list. Having actually seen the alternative version shortly after its release in 2015 is another story. Hence the overdue WIP update.
I'm pretty certain Bishop was only chosen as homage to the 90s X-Men animated series' same title arc, and the fact that he's a mutant from the 'future'; ("why not just put him in, as the story isn't set in the 'present'?") other than that, I don't see how his powers and character matters to the film at all; nonetheless, so he can absorb other people's energy, the best substitute I can come up with is Everett, who can SYNCH with other people's powers! (and honestly, Bishop's bigass gun did not help him battle in the film at all) So yeah, I can totally see the epicness of Synch channeling with and power-up the gather power. YES I KNOW HE DIED IN THE COMICS, all the better to see him live on the screen. I guess the plus is he's also a dark skin character just as Bishop is.
I actually have next to nothing to complain about Sunspot as he did not have many lines so I couldn't really judge; I did picture him as a light skin hispanic whereas he is sometimes colored with darker skin tone. He did, however, get sort of the most bashing comparing to the other new characters, as the way his power were shown is easily compared to Jonathan "Johnny" Storm aka Human Torch from the Fantastic Four. So... While I did like how the makeup and effects appeared (cuz really? Black fire? that'd look more like smoke,) to avoid the unkind comparison, I figured using people with powers that can blast or blow up stuff, instead of having an obvious flaming body, could achieve a similar outcome.
A] Out of all the nominees, Boom-Boom is the character I personally know the least of. I picked her mainly to compliment Warpath's associated groups, or he would be the odd one standing out. That, and well, she could blow up stuff with cute catchphrases like "Tik, Tik, Tik" and it doesn't hurt to have a blonde eye candy lol.
B] My friends who've watched the 90s X-Men cartoon all think lowly of Jubilee, even though she proved herself actually powerful enough to stand on her own. She had cameo scenes in all first 3 of the X-Men films; this could have been the perfect chance to let her shine! Also can't help mentioning she's Chinese-American, and... Blink's actress (Fan Bingbing) is Chinese! Could have been a more accurately casting if switching roles.
C] Chamber's power probably would have the closest result to Sunspot's; the scene would have still be powerful and epic-looking (which the other two options above probably would lack the long-range damage). And well, having a moody guy with a hot British accent is always a plus! xP
Like I said, Kitty's power does not make sense sending people's conscious back to the past, M is a competent telepath, not only that, she also has superhuman strength/endurance and flight.
Counting Blink as a Generation X member:
Picking A], we'd get 2 X-Force members, 3 Generation X members, and 3 X-Men.
Picking B] or C], we'd get 1 X-Force member, 4 Generation X members, and 3 X-Men.
Why I put this set of choices on top?
Mainly because I think Generation X's members were overshadowed by the students before and after them, AND IT'S THEIR 20TH ANNIVERSARY THIS NOVEMBER!* Man, it would have been so cool if seeing them in live-action again! Reboot the TV movie!
(Reminder: This was written back in 2014; though I still think Generation X deserve some form of celebration)
(P.S.: I know Chamber and Jubilee were part of New Warriors for a time after Decimation, but I don't think it's too relevant to the other groups. I would personally like to see a M-Day storyline though... If only 20th Century Fox had the brains and balls to actually do it. Sighs.)
I thought Actor Booboo Stewart as Warpath was good looking and all, but with Colossus's character already looking so huge, he just seemed so small; with so little lines, he's easily forgettable, and I bet a bunch of people were super confused as to what his power was. So for Superhuman strength/speed/stamina/senses, I give you Wolfsbane! Definitely easier to spot and make a statement! The Scottish accent is another plus of diversity.
How Blink's powers were shown are exactly the same as how Magik's works, only that the Russian also has a frightening-looking SOULSWORD, and can do spell work! The big bonus? She's Colossus's sister and friends with Kitty (and the rest of the people in this section,) I can perfectly see it play out more emotionally with the brother-sister relationship: had she replaced Blink's role, how devastated she'd be when Colossus was struck down by the Sentinels! In the novelization of X-Men: The Last Stand by Writer Chris Claremont, who wrote the original DoFP, it was mentioned that Kitty and Illyana were pen-pals, so yup, could have totally connected the dots!
Although she's not known for telepathy but possessing other people's mind, she'd pass; honestly ANYONE with actual mind-related ability are better choices than Pryde! Vietnamese girl with a crush on Kitty, had she been picked she'd been the first lesbian mutant on screen!
Optional REPLACE Bishop with BOTH Douglas "Doug" Ramsey aka Cypher and Warlock «[both New Mutants → X-Factor (Serval Industries); briefly assisted (black op-ish) X-Force]»
Without replacing, Bishop would stick out in this set. Although powers being very different, as I stated earlier, Bishop's power doesn't really hold too much significance, so visually, with Warlock able to morph into anything, including weaponry, as a team they can reach similar effect.
Keeping Bishop, we'd get 4 New Mutants Members, 4 X-Men.
Replacing him, we'd get 6 New Mutants Members, 3 X-Men.
Why this set of choices?
I think not using Magik really is a gigantic miss. So much POTENTIAL!!!!! Also, this is favoring the New Mutants roster, a team that is literally the oldest set of 'NEW' students! Personally I think it's a shame they picked characters like Angel Salvadore *coughs, X-Men: First Class (film)*, who's created at least 2 decades later, to be in films!*
(Updates: I was super happy to learn about The New Mutants (film) when it was first announced, and was super impressed that Fox finally got a roster reflecting canon for once. As per my usual attitude towards Fox's films, I will NOT be having high expectations, just to avoid being letdown. That being said, I can already guarantee, no matter how the film turns out, I will ALWAYS compliment on it selecting the PROPER characters, which is the beef I have with X-Men: Days of Future Past and what this entire blog post is about. lol)
A] So what if he already appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (film), making him logically being super old if he showed up in the future! He has a complicated relationship with Nathaniel Essex aka Mister Sinister, who's an expert on DNA, let's just imagine Gambit doesn't age badly! He has the power to blow up a whole planet, and is a fan favorite wishing to get a reboot, if only they did it in this one!
B]Bryan Singer had actually posted a fake tweet about casting Lady Gaga for the role as an April Fool's prank. She's another character I barely know (only know her a little more than Boom-Boom,) and to be frank, don't particularly care for, but it seems like she does have a decent fan base. With her power having to do with sound waves and music, it indeed may be harder to incorporate within the movie, but if doing it right, with the right awesome soundtrack, it could have been an epic fight scene!
REPLACE Warpath with Laura Kinney aka X-23 «[X-Men → (black op-ish) X-Force → a lot more others...]»
Wolverine's messed up female clone whose superhuman senses are more trained and stronger than her DNA donor. She might seem out of place in this group, but she definitely fits in a little bit more than Warpath. Roommates with Kitty and Betsy briefly, and ventured with Gambit for a period time. Wolverine's conscious got sent back in the past? We'd need a fierce fighter like him to stay around in the future! Plus the whole clone thingy just adds countless potential to future plots.
Side note: The more I think about it, the more I think it's such a shame that this character herself was not invented sooner, as she would have been much better fit, replacing Yuriko Oyama aka Lady Deathstrike's role in X2 (film). Again, I'm aware that film adaptation takes liberty on how they want to "adapt" the source material, but for people who do care to know more about comic book canon, Lady Deathstrike IS actually NOT A MUTANT; she DOES have adamantium claws coming out of her fingertips, but she DOES NOT have healing powers. Yes, personally I think the fight scene between Yuriko and Logan was effing EPIC in X2; I'm just saying, had X-23's character been created a tad bit earlier, she would have been a perfect fit, they wouldn't even have to change the origin of the film version's character too much. Because of her young age, instead of posing as Stryker's secretary, she could be his intern.
Since his debut in X2, fans had been asking: why isn't he back!?X-Men: The Last Stand, too many mutants (and apparently other reasons;) X-Men: Days of Future Past, too many mutants! Bryan Singer, if you did consider him, why the eff did you have to bring in Blink? I admit, the special effects look good and all, but were they a MUST? Granted, Blink and Nightcrawler teleports differently, but do fans need to meet new characters that they aren't emotionally attached to, when they could easily welcome a reappearance of such great member? I seriously think the casting of Blink is solely an international market strategy. Don't get me wrong, I do think the actress is extremely gorgeous, but the character did not move me at all. To think she said it's the first of the five contracts she signed with Fox! Let's just hope the character is written better in future films!
British telepath stuck in a Japanese body! Also have powers in the form of a psychic knife. In fact her character did appear in X-Men: The Last Stand, it just wasn't well written or credited right. (It's hilarious and upsetting that even Actress Meiling Melançon and Scriptwriter Zak Penn didn't know exactly which character she was playing and had a debate whether it was Betsy's Psylocke or Kwannon aka Revanche.) I thought Melançon, although not Japanese, was passable enough; but honestly, if they had to hire Fan Bingbing (Blink's actress,) I can see her as Betsy as well. Bryan Singer said he chose her for Blink because she had her look... idk, maybe a little bit? But out of all the characters, she actually stood out as a cosplayer to me. She just didn't sell that she was born like that, whereas Nightcrawler in X2 and Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand really did. She'd probably look more like she actually belong there with keeping her natural Asian look.
We'd get 8 X-Men, 4 of whom had also been members of Excalibur.
Why this set of choices?
This set of fixing suggestion actually only would have 2(3) new characters (X-23, Bishop and Dazzler if picking B]), the question is, do we really need new ones, when we have old ones we missed and cared? Both Gambit and Nightcrawler's roles were scripted then cut in X-Men: The Last Stand, both were said to finally reappear in X-Men: Apocalypse, let's just hope the writers do keep their promise!*
(Updates: I'm happy with the younger Kurt; the film itself is however the least towards my liking; in short, I think it's utter crap. Also, at this point I'm severely doubting Remy to ever resurface in Fox's franchise; I'd be glad to be proven wrong, bring it! For characters in this selection who also made film appearances after this blog post was written; Laura in Logan (film), my only sadness is that by the time she's at the age of her comic-counterpart, Fox probably would have stopped making X-Men films. Though, TBH I'm not even sure if that's a bad thing.)
(P.S.: Betsy in X-Men: Apocalypse, makes me want to DIE. I have nothing against Actress Olivia Munn, but it's factoring other casting choices that made me unable to warm up to her version of the character. In fact, I loathe the film so much, I'm pretty sure at one point I wanted to make a separate rant blog about it, but unlike X-Men: Days of Future Past, the character choices are far less of my annoyance to the point that I don't think changing them would help me view the film in a better light. So not happening soon, if ever.)
