Steven Universe First Half of Season 1 Review

Warning/Spoiler: This is a negative review. Don't really like doing these because I don't like upsetting people. I am not saying SU is bad...merely explaining why it is not my particular tastes at least for the most part.

To remind me people of what my rating system is:

5/5: Very likely my favorite in it's genre. Potentially my favorite in the medium. Something I greatly enjoy, that has great intellectual and emotional resonance with me. I would view this again and again by myself. I would style my own work after the ideas in it. If someone loves this work, I would be instantly companions with them in some way.

4/5: I really enjoyed the work. Something I might recommend to people and would view again with other people or after a long time. Has at least a few elements that I absolutely loved and might try to replicate. If someone loves this work, I will chatter with them about it and have fun.

3/5: I thought it was enjoyable enough. It fills the time and serves it's purpose though I wouldn't go out of my way to call myself a fan or go to defend it. Glad I viewed it once but probably won't again. If someone loves this work, I will see why but I won't have much to say.

2/5: Generally meh. I didn't find it very entertaining or it has some good elements but they are too diluted for my to really enjoy. I kinda regret using the time on it, though I won't argue with someone who likes it or whatever. If someone loves this work, I will be a bit confused why, but will leave them to their enjoyment.

1/5: Actively angers, annoys, or offends me. A work that I actively avoid talking or thinking about when possible. A work I will only view if I have to. If someone loves this work, I will try my best to stay quiet so as not to show my disdain for it.


Characters:
Steven Universe has a very large cast of characters. Now having a too large cast of characters can be a real problem and YMMV on how large a cast "should" be for the kind and style of story you want to tell. The main character is the titular Steven Universe, a young-ish boy and his 3 (legal?) Guardians collectively called "The Crystal Gems". There's Pearl the Responsible one and Best Character, Garnet the "Cool" One, and Amethyst who acts noticeably younger then the others and is wild and irresponsible. There's also a huge number of other characters, there's no real collective "villain" for the first half...just a sort of vague group of monsters who turns out are also gems but evil ones. If this sounds like Madoka, it sort of is and also is nothing like that.


I have to say for me personally the really large cast was more of a hindrance then a strength. When you have a very large cast it becomes harder and harder to maintain depth because you keep splitting up the screentime. And every episode it felt like they were focusing on some minor character instead of the actual main characters and so the main characters felt rather flat. I don't recall once being surprised by anything about them (save for worldbuilding obviously when they introduce a new power).

Pearl as you probably noticed is my favorite of them being an actually mature responsible Guardian with a pleasing maternal streak. But my enjoyment I knew really only went that far. Garnet I thought was fine however I thought Steven got kind of grating with his sheer impulsiveness and inability to listen, and I thought Amethyst was a terrible guardian. Admittingly she's called out for being a terrible guardian but she didn't seem to even care.

Most of the side characters...I don't really remember. Lion was cool though, even if people seemed less shocked by the magical unexplained lion then I would be. Also Steven's father seemed entirely incapable of taking care of his son and that really roused my anger. I am less then forgiving with parents who refuse to be responsible with their children. 

Their was one character that showed up near the end, A Gem called "Lapis Lazuli". She was interesting enough and raised a lot of questions, like some kind of mis-season cliffhanger...her personality was kinda basic us vs. them mentality but it was more complex then any other psychology I had seen on the show so far. Likewise her powerset was pretty basic "Water Manipulation" but you know with Elements that's a pretty broad bases. Havng control of an element isn't really a cliche powerset because there is so much variety within it. Sailor Mercury, Katara, and Namor all control water but they aren't anything alike in powerset. 

In General the Characters were very basic though, and I have to admit I couldn't really say I had much of a connection to any of them.

2/5


Plots: 
Steven Universe for the most part was comprised of individual one-shots rather then an overarching plots. I've mentioned before....I don't like filler. This seems to be a show that's >50% filler so far. Likewise most of the plots were not that memorable. A good number of them were caused by the main characters...which I know some people like I just don't.

The Lowest Score I'd give an episode is a 1/5 ("Cat Fingers" which was disgusting and somewhat scary) and the highest I'd give would be a 3/5 ("Serious Steven" which was a well-done adventure piece focused around a dangerous environment in the style of Indiana Jones and the like). 

There's a big problem with the SU plots on the first half of the first season...namely the Crystal Gems seem like terrible superheroes. And if they aren't not Superheroes they seem like terrible heroes. From the first episode on, they always seem to need Steven to help them. Steven is a young boy with bad control of his powers and yet he's always the one saving them. They are supposed to be his guardians. And sometimes it goes beyond just that.

In episode 2 a Red Eye is gonna hit the city and the only thing that can stop it is a cannon that Steven's late mother had. Steven is the ONLY one who even considers asking his dad for it. The Crystal Gems are skeptical and sure they might have every right to be. I wouldn't protest this if they were doing trying some other method. But they spend literally a whole day of Garnet just throwing Amethyst at the thing over and over. I don't know if it's supposed to be a really long joke but it's like textbook insanity. Even if they don't think Greg Quartz (that' his father) would have the cannon, even a slim possibility is better then doing the same thing over and over like that. 

There is another problem the plots suffer, which is they try to manufacture emotion. Not let it come naturally from the narrative but try and force emotion from the viewer. They'll pour on x-character's sob story in order to try and make the viewer feel bad for them or they'll try and force an emotional moment by having X Character act like a stereotype and/or Steven say something that is supposed to be super profound because of his innocence ("So Many Birthday" is a good example of this). Emotion must come naturally from the characters and their situations, trying to manufacture it consciously will only end up with a simulation akin to having a narrator dictate to us what we "should" be feeling in that situation.

Overall the plots of SU are if I am being mean, emotionally manipulative and dull and if I am being charitable would say they don't connect very well at least with me personally. It also does not present it's characters in a very flattering light.

Aesthetic:
Steven Universe was apparently influenced aestheically and content-wise by Revolutionary Girl Utena and omg does it show. Utena is arguably a Magical Girl Anime and one of the most acclaimed worldwide ever. It's also my most disliked Magical Girl Show. There's an episode of SU that plays really direct homage to Utena (Steven the Sword Fighter, a 3/5 episode and as an episode is probably better then Utena as a whole if I am being frank.) that has a like a direct blow for blow copy of a famous Utena fight.

I am not crazy about the Aesthetics in SU. It's very pastel water-colory and reminds me firstly of Utena and second of Crayon Shin-Chan. And I don't dislike Crayon Shin-Chan but you can not watch more then an episode before your eyes start to watch from the pastel-y ness of it. The Characters of SU have a very mixed aesthetic to their outfits. Look at the Crystal Gems for a second. Look at how many colors and shapes they have. The Aesthetic of the show is almost anti-minimalist including details basically for the sake of details. It lacks the streamlined elegance I would want.

Musically...it's better but not really anything huge. My thoughts on the opening theme first time I heard it could be summed up as "Wow, that was short!" The Opening's a catchy enough jiggle even if it doesn't really hype me or tell me much about what's different about this show compared to any others. Let's compare the Steven Universe Opening with the Opening of the other Cartoon I have done a review on...Star versus the Forces of Evil:

"We....are the Crystal GEMS!
We'll always save the day!
And if you think we can't....
We'll always find a way!
That's why the people...
of...this...world.......believe in.....
Garnet! Amethyst! and Pearl! AND STEVEN!"


"It's gonna get a little weird,
Gonna get a little wild.
I ain't from round here,
I'm from another DIMENSION!

It's gonna get a little weird,
Gonna have a GOOD TIME!
I ain't from round here,
I'm from another woo-hoo!

Yea-ah!

I'm taking Rainbows!
I'm talking Puppies!

Puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puuuuuuhhhhhhh

It's gonna get a little weird,
Gonna get a little wild.
I ain't from round here,
I'm from another DIMENSION!"

Part of is that the Star theme is so much longer but seriously, outside the roll call the SU theme is just so...generic. Outside the Roll Call every line could apply to a thousand different shows and the tune is so mellow and unhype. The Star theme does everything it can to hype you, with repetition of words and sounds, lots of energy, descriptive words all about things inherent to the show. 

SU also has musical numbers in the episodes. I didn't hear many of them and I recall even less of them. The only one I remember to any real extent was "Giant Woman" and that's because TFS made their own version of that same song "Super Saiyan". (I swear TFS are geniuses....Super Saiyan sounds like the original and Giant Woman sounds like the Cover. I mean "All I want to be/is a Dad who gets to see a Super Saiyan" works so much better then "All I want to be is/is someone who gets to see a Giant Woman." )

Overall the Aesthetics of SU Visually are not to my personal taste and the Auditory Part is servicable but not really memorable. 

2/5

Mood (???):

In the first 26 episodes I ahd seriously difficulties piecing together what the Mood of SU was supposed to be...is it primarily action? I doubt that cause the action is generally only a small part of the episode. Is it primarily comedy? I don't think so because it had whole episodes with only a few jokes jokes. Is it primarily a Pure Sci-Fi Mood ala the 60s Asimov and whatnot? I don't think so because the actual biology of the Gems and the technology they use is the focus of only a few episodes. It's clearly some kind of fusion but I can't tell what the core is supposed to be which is a sign that at this stage they themselves weren't sure what exactly they were going for. However I didn't find the mood very compelling. It's clearly trying to be an emotive mood but it's ability to create emotions feels so artificial that I can't connect to it on that level. I can't give this one any points because I can't figure out what I should be expecting when I go in. Even if I was supposed to expect a surprise, something new every episode like a Classical Adventure Story, that would be a mood. But I don't have any idea what kind of mood it's trying to set. The last two episodes suggest it's trying to be a serious science-fiction story, but the science is so barely elaborated on.

1/5

Genre: (Urban Fantasy/Science-Fantasy):

THIS is much more clear cut and something that I feel they do better then most things. It's a combination the Science-Fantasy genre fusion, a genre focused on the intermingling of the rational and the intuitive parts of the brain as distinguished by the Fusion of Technology and Magic and the Urban Fantasy genre which is a genre about finding the magical and transcendental even in otherwise Mundane Environments. Those are both genres I really like and a fusion of them sounds like it has a lot of potential. 

As a word of speclative fiction let's discuss their worldbuilding. The worldbuilding is....not much really in the first 26 episodes. And yet it's also the most effective, probably because it's minimal, With every other section I feel like the problem is they crammed in too much.  They wanted to do so many things that they lost focus. However in the world-building I can say they went much slower and as a result it's a lot more consistent in feel. The series focused around a Rocklike Alien (who all happen to look humanoid women...gotta love that humanoid alien trope in fiction) controlled by their gems. And if nothing else I will say they did this masterfully. They got this idea across in the first few minutes of the first episode. The very first episode we see Steven looks mostly human but he has an odd gem that has powers. We see 3 human-oid looking beings with gems in them that give them powers and that have much finer control and are expressely watching out to see that he can control it. most of the worldbuilding comes from the first episode, and that is very well done I will say.

Immediately upon watching episode 1 your impressions are that Steven and these Beings are different fro normal humans in some-way. Steven has less control and looks more human and so  we can intuitively piece together that Steven is likely a second generation of this species, we can see evidentally how their powers work, that from their gem materialize weapons, and that these gems are important to them because they control their bodies. From their color schemes and weapon choices we have strong evidence suggesting the Gems aren't human at all while Steven seems at least partially human. We see a monster creature with it's own gem and we can conclude from all this that the Gems are in some way non-human, likely extra-terrestrial via their Science Fiction aesthetics, that Steven is a Second Generation Gem, that their species uses their Gem to maintain themselves and grants them their powers via weapon conjuration (we can even make the logical leap that these forms are likely materialized the same as the weapons which proves true in a later episode). All of this we can deduce from evidence in the first episode without anyone saying anything explicit to the sort. That's pretty well done world-building. Tolkien would be proud. 

The Worldbuilding, even if I am not a huge fan of some of the ideas presented, remains consistently a strength of the series, Gem Society is often alluded to briefly with ruins and the like but never fully explored so when we get our first Civilized but Antagonistic Gem at the halfway point of the season we have a good understanding of the basis they are coming from. Again I would theorize that worldbudiling is the one area they went slower in, took their time, didn't include every idea the minute they thought it.

However I must take points away from the genre section because while it world-builds very well it doesn't play to the strengths of either Science-Fantasy or Urban Fantasy. The Appeal of Science-Fantasy is the wonder of having the intuitive mind and the rational mind meet and coming to a profound sense or realization. However, at least for me, the emotional manipulation within SU kept me at a distance, such that I could only rely on the rational brain for the part. I could not feel wonder, grandeur, or terror the necessary emotional components to the "magic" of Fantasy. The appeal of Urban Fantasy is the ability to portray the fantastical within a familiar setting such to provide a contrast between the mundane and the fantastic. SU seems to fixiate on this point, however while those worlds very often come close, they never connect in SU. The citizens of Beach City seems utterly indifferent to the very evident existence of aliens among them and dangerous threats to humanity. The most interaction gotten was the influence of the Mundane world on the Gems themselves such as when Garnet get essentially hypnotized in a video game or when Amethyst secretly joins an underground wrestling ring. But at least not so far there has little to no impact of this Magical World on the Mundane. 

Overall in terms of genre, SU Season 1 Part 1 has masterfully created a world to use for it's story, and then stubbornly not made any story out of that world.

3/5

Conclusion:

Judging strictly by what I've seen, I don't like SU. Frankly I'm just bored watching it. It has good points, it's not like I'm saying it's terrible. But it very clearly has as an influence Utena, a show I dislike greatly and seem to be the only one who does. 

2/5

Series I am in the Fandom of

I do LIKE more then this....this is just stuff I would say I am in the fandom of.


Anime/Manga:
Sailor Moon
Cardcaptor Sakura
Puella Madi Madoka Magicka
Futari wa Pretty Cure
Tokyo Mew Mew
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch
Magic Knight Rayearth
Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt
Wedding Peach
....Magical Girls in General really
Saint Seiya
Yu-gi-oh! (Original Series)
Yu Yu Hakusho
Axis Powers Hetallia

Comic Books:
Mostly DC Comics
Spider-Man Comics

Film:
Monty Python Set of Movies
The DCEU/DCEM
Certain Parts of the MCU
Sam Raimi Spider-Man Movie Trilogy (Yes, even 3)
Tommorrowland
Interstellar
The Seven Samurai
The Princess Bride
Lawrence of Arabia
Movies that are Part of Series that I like (Obviously)

Literature:
The Divine Comedy
The Collected Works of Shakespeare (Especially Julius Caesar)
Underland Chronicles (AKA that better book series by the Hunger Games writer)
The Works of HP Lovecraft
The Works of Anne Rice
Carmilla
American Gods
Discworld
Good Omens
Works of Asimov
Three Worlds Collide

Video-Games:
Magicka
Stanley Parable
Undertale
God of War
Dante's Inferno
Kingdom Hearts
Metroid
LittleBigPlanet
Portal
Antichamber
Dead Space

Western Cartoons:
The DCAU in General
Star versus the Forces of Evil
Samurai Jack

Sailor Moon vs Cardcaptor Sakura Quick Thoughts

This is not a Death Analysis. This was made because I was alerted by a friend that this fight, my number one fight wanted, the fight I have considered since before I even knew what the versus community was, was being made on Death Battle Fanon. If you are not Hoot Freeman, the person making that blog, I ask that you don't read this lest you be surprised. This blog will not have citations or any bells and whistles, just all my many thoughts on this battle.

If you are Hoot Freeman, welcome. Hope you don't mind my making this blog but it was somewhat asked of me.....hopefully it will be of some use to you.

Stats Notes:

• Sakura has Multiversal Level Magic, since she was stronger then Clow Reed who's imperfect clone could reality-warp the entire Multiverse. She can also resist Magic of that Level with The Shield, The Hope, or her Natural Magic. Sailor Moon in canon is only Universal Level due to the Lambda Power restoring and warping the entire cosmos (as well as many other universal feats). That said, this is very much a "hax" fight due to their extreme versatility.
• Sailor Moon is way way faster. Cardcaptor Sakura is MAYBE lightspeed with Anime Card Combinations like Light + Dash (Or Dark + Dash, Shadow + Dash, etc...). Sailor Moon is conservatively in the Billions of Times Lightspeed, plus has spacetime powers that negative physical speed advantages anyway
• Cardcaptor Sakura has her natural magic and all her Sakura Cards. Sailor Moon has the Lamba Power and thus the Power of all the Sailor Crystals.
• Sailor Moon is much more experienced fighter
• Sakura is naturally more clever (thought Sailor Moon can boost her intelligence with Mercury Crystal)

Sakura Cards and Sailor Crystal Interactions:

• Sakura can overcome Usagi's regen by warping her concept out of the multiverse, though such would be strenuous for her, and Usagi can semi-protect from that by creating a separate dimension with "Hyperdimensional Spatial Emerge" and Sealing it off with the "Dark Dome Close"
• Usagi can remove the Star Seeds of the Spirits of Sakura's Clow Cards, and thus bring them under her control instead.
• Sakura's Time + Loop could be countered by Sailor Moon's Silver Crystal linking up with Silver Crystals of other time periods, as it did when Usagi was trapped in Time Purgatory in Second Arc
• Usagi's Flower Hurricane can be countered by Sakura's The Flower
• Usagi's Darkness Powers from Chaos Crystal can be countered by The Light + The Dark or by The Glow
• Mercury Aqua Mist can also be countered by The Glow
• Sakura's The Maze can be countered by Sailor Moon's Moon Spiral Heart Attack or it's upgraded version Rainbow Moon Heartache, both of which can break Usagi out of artificial dimension as shown in third arc.
• The Erase and The Void would both slow Usagi down, but she can regen from it due to her Lambda Regen which regenerated her from nothing within the Galaxy Cauldron
• Sailor Moon's Time Warping would be countered by The Time. If Usagi tried to send hr to a time purgatory, Sakura can use The Return to go back. 
• Usagi's Henshin Power (which transforms her from state to state) can counter The Little turning Usagi small and weakening her magic, as it did in the 4th Arc.
• The Jupiter Crystal and The Power gives Usagi and Sakura comparable physical strength if they come to physical blows
• The Silent would be very dangerous to Usagi since it would stop her from casting spells, though she could still use the Power of Destruction, which can be utilized by pointing one's finger.
• Both Usagi and Sakura can put people to sleep, Usagi via the Silver Crystal, Sakura via The Sleep. Both can also control dream Worlds, Usagi via the Golden and Sapphire Crystals, Sakura via The Sleep and The Dream
• Moon Twilight Flash counters The Shadow
• The Create is dangerous but it's also kind of unknown in it's limits. 
• Usagi has the ability to exist on the Astral Plane with Saturn crystal and attack souls on that plane. Sakura has no major counter to that, though The Hope should protect from that to some extent. 
• Usagi's Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss can attack through dimensions and outside of Multiversal Reality-Warping, Sakura doesn't. However she can use The Lock to keep Usagi from doing so
• Usagi's Mirror Powers from the Chaos Crystal (Nehelenia's Powers) can be countered via The Mirror and vice versa. Both can reflect attacks. 
• The Mist counters Silence Glaive Surprise and Mercury Aqua Mist
• They both have Sword Powers for a sword-duel (Venus Crystal can summon the Holy Sword, Sakura has The Sword)
• They both have Archery Powers (Mars Flame Sniper, The Shot)
• It is unconfirmed if Sakura can survive in space, though The Water and The Bubble allows her to breathe underwater and should work in space
• The Watery, The Fiery, and the Windy protects against The Mercury, Neptune, Mars, and Uranus Crystals.
• The Wood + The Thunder protects against the Jupiter Crystal 
• Mercury Crystal allows Usagi to sense Sakura's water powers
• Mau Crystal gives Usagi 9 Lives, which will be tricky to beat
• The Change can be nullified by Guardian Cosmos
• Usagi's Golden Crystal gives her Trans-Time Telepathy which gives her information from the future and helps her towards victory. This would give her a massive initial advantage though Sakura could theoretically stop it via Time + Lock

Other:

• New Stuff could come out....Sakura has Clear Card Arc coming out currently and all.....I am judging Sakura based on Manga + Anime + Movies (Clamp has weird canon so it's what I would do) and Sailor Moon based on original canon Manga
• Both can create new powers if needed. Usagi can create new attacks via channeling her Planet Power through physical objects, as Venus did in Codename Sailor V and Mercury seemed to in the First Arc. Sakura can create new Sakura cards via her natural Energy. Sakura's is more versatile but Usagi's is much quicker and is not energy-intensive like Sakura's. It's possible Sakura could make a "Cosmos" or "Lambda" card to replicate Usagi's powers. It's also possible that Usagi could replicate Sakura's powers by channeling her planet powers through Sakura's cards

Usagi's Advantages:

• Much Faster
• More Experienced Fighter
• Mercury Crystal can give Larger Intellect
• Far More Powers in General
• Powers are more Fast-Paced and Combat Oriented
• Better Soul, Mind, Spirit, and Conceptual Manipulation
• Lambda Regen protects against most of Sakura's powers
• More Esoteric and Hard to Fight Haxes

Sakura's Advantages:

• Much Higher DC
• Much Higher Durability with The Hope and The Shield
• Reality-Warping CAN overcome Lambda Power Regeneration
• Powers can be combined on the fly
• Higher Starting Intellect
• Can theoretically trap the Silver Crystal or Cosmos Crystal in cards
• Sakura Cards are sentient beings and can independently act to protect Sakura
• Individual Sakura Cards have much wider scope of power then Sailor Crystals which use specific techniques

My Desires for our RP Group

As we come to the end of our first "arc' I want to clarify my personal preferences for the DM's usage.

Gonna use this Survey for Basic Structure:
http://cheetoism.pbworks.com/w/page/9794894/Player%20Preferences%20Questionnaire

Game Style:
Cinematic>Realistic
Thesp>Hack
Drama>Shtick


What Happens:
Action & Fights 2
Building 2
Character 4
Character Power 4
Destroying 1
Exploration 3

How it's done

Communication

Magic

Medical

Persuading

Scholarship 

Favourites

Note here your favourite

Movie: Sailor Moon R Promise if the Rose
TV series: Sailor Moon
Fiction book: La Commedia
Non-fiction book: None

More Detail: I got way more time then expected because the DM announced he was leaving literally the minute I finished this!!!

But regardless I'll write up more stuff. 

Further Notes (for more Specific Feedback):

• Internal Conflict>External Conflict (Interesting Possibilities)>External Conflict (Generic)
• I don't like Random Encounters, I don't like sidequests, I don't like this diverting from the plot. It's basically filler
• I don't like difficulty actually. There is no such thing to me as being overpowered as a player. If could I could play an omnipotent character that would be just fine to me. The only reason I don't munchking is roleplay is way more important then the mechanical
• I HATE basic physical fighting. It's SO boring. It's "punch something till it's dead"
• I enjoy building characters and character advancements. If you let me gain 10 levels and a ring of wish I'd be perfectly happy with that. I would spend all session every session rping with any usage of rules being an unfortunate necessity if I could. 
• I think EVERYTHING mechanical should be immediate reflected in thematic descriptions. Every roll should be described in-universe. The staleness of purely numerical combat must be avoided
• I absolutely LOVE when a character's backstory is important to the plot. That's thematic resonance and should be encouraged.
• I don't really like mysteries very often because usually it takes absolutely forever to get anywhere with them and it involve a lot of clues that don't help lead one to the conclusion in a timely fashion.
• I greatly prefer being in civilization to being in nature.
• Give me Magical Items. Lots of em. It's my jewelry. 
• I want to make a positive impact on the world
• The Best Villains for most adventures are things I can kill with no moral ambiguity, like undead, constructs or evil outsiders. 
• I honestly don't care about the mechanical rules to any extent more then other people do. It is the thematic rules that should be more important.
• I want the world to be have thematic resonance. Religion, Magic, Philosophy, Civilizations, Species, etc. should reflect each other and parallel each other so that the world comes from the same axiom. 
• I don't like "fiddly bits". AKA small things that distract you for way longer periods of time. Try and keep things focused. 
• Give the world some Grandeur and Dignitas. Have there be stuff that feels important. If you spend all session doing stuff that will never matter then you've wasted a session. 

Types of Yuri

Don't know why, felt a sudden urge to write this. Just an impulse.

Yuri for those who don't know is a genre of Anime and Manga focused around the love between two girls, the female equivalent of Yaoi which is the love between two guys. People sometimes think it's Lesbian Pornography Hentai or Hentai Manga/Doujinshi. It's not...though it can be extremely NSFW and have sex scenes, it generally is not ABOUT sex perse, and is more like a romance story that can get really graphic. I am quite the fan.

There's three main types of Yuri and I just wanted to make a quick blog explaining what those are. Generally though they are divided by what their target audience is.

Their's Yuri for Guys....Seinen Yuri, or the super-rare Shonen Yuri. Super-rare because Shonen tends to be quite detached from romance or love stories. Shonen Yuri tends to be the closest to a hentai manga.

There's Yuri for Teenage Girls, Shoujo Yuri. This is actually the most common. It's also my favorite.

And then there is Yuri for Adult Women, Josei Yuri. This is the rarest one, although fans will tell you it's the only "real" Yuri.

Let me start by saying there's sort of two types of characters people go for: People and Icons.

People are meant to be realistic, three-dimensional, fully-fleshed out, etc. They are meant to be relatable or intriguing in their complexity, etc. The major goal is being lifelike.

Icons are meant to be immediately recognizable and archetypal. They have simpler more drastic personalities and actions.They are meant to be very entertaining to watch and intriguing not in their depth but in their impact.

Yuri for Guys tends to be mostly Icons. The Characters are sort of more extreme archetypes. These works tend to heavy a focus on femininity, innocence, general moe-ness. Their is a vaguely idealized version of what being a teen girl is like (since outside of Josei, most Yuri is set in school with the main characters being schoolgirl lesbians) and lots of fanservice in the form of the characters in cute costumes or situations. These works tend to have the most physical action between the characters, but it also tends to be the lightest physical action. A quick kiss or loving caress here or there to tease the audience. Actual sexuality is general reserved for really important points. The heavy emphasis on icons means the series tends towards really sort of blunt and direct characterization meant for the more direct entertainment of the male audience rather then depth. As such these works are often more plot-focused with lots of big events happening rather then subtle characterization, which boys tend to prefer anyway. This is the sub-genre that most often takes forever for the girls to actually get in any kind of relationship, whereas the other Sub-Genres tend to start with that and focus on their relationship status, this sub-genre prefers to focus on how they get into that relationship (Thugh Shoujo Yuri does that a little).

Example Plot: Poor Hina-Chan! She's a nerd (with boyish likes) and shy, and now her classmates find out she still is mostly interested in girls in High School! She's in the middle of the other girls' bullying when suddenly Miyu-senpai shows up. All the Bullies stare in shock at this elegant cool confident girl. One year older, used "omae" as her default pronoun, and with a beautiful long dark hair complimenting her pale skin, she's what all the girls crave to be! Miyu-senpai with a few words send the bullies running before helping Hina-chan up. Miyu will act as Hina's active dominant sexually, protector, and teacher of how to be more confident. The climax of the story will be the first time that Hina stands up to Miyu, and Miyu's happiness that Hina has finally become a confident woman herself. 


Shoujo Yuri is a big mixture of Icons and People. It's also about the fanservice, but it's a different type of fanservice. Shoujo Yuri also has Femininity as an idealized concept, but will more often have the characters striving to be it, rather then being it effortlessly, it's written more like cheesy romance novels. Their is often surprisingly actual erotic content more graphic and common then in Yuri for Guys, but it's almost as rare and the smaller stuff is also rarer. Imagine "OMG we can't do this, we're both girls!" for a thousand pages lol. Their also tends to be more gender-bending with masculine girls taking the active romantic role for our femme lead being common. Often Shoujo Yuri is a form of escapism where girls can just love each other instead of being backstabbing bitc.....sorry that got away from me. Straight girls also sometimes read this since "Forbidden Romance" and all is exciting to girls regardless of reason. The mixture between icons and people often shows up as the main girl and her friends are people with mundane lives and developed personalities (for the readers to identify with) and the Cool Girls that are the love interests are the Icons with big personalities that the reader can girl-crush on.

Example Plot: Yuma is just your ordinary girl but to go to the good school she needs to live in a dorm away from home. Arriving late she finds there is no rooms for her to use but a older dorm-mate agrees to let her stay with her. From local gossip she finds out this new Room-Mate is actually the mysterious Ryusei, an extremely rich aristocrat girl, who is rumored to have a habit of seducing cute young girls into girls' love. Yuma finds herself in the virtual palace of this queen and her playing the part of servant. Yuma finds herself dependent on Ryusei, and Ryusei taking flirtatious advantage of her. Yuma must come to terms with her own attraction towards the older girl, her feelings of being both more independent then ever and more dependent then ever, and figure out where she is comfortable. The climax of the story comes when Yuma leaves Ryusei, but asks her to come live together in a modest dwelling, Ryusei says no initially not wanting to leave her hedonism behind but changes her mind and goes to live with Yuma.

Josei Yuri is a mixture of mostly people. It is the least fanservice-y and the most focused on actual LGBT experiences in Japan. It attempts to be most realistic and often has characters that are not very simple and easy to grasp, and talks about discrimination against lesbians, especially adult lesbians, in Japan. As such it is the most likely to feature grown adults. Eroticism is not unknown but is rarer then any other Yuri genre. The fans of this particular sub-genre have a bad reputation of calling everything that isn't this "Not REAL Yuri".

Example Plot: Aimi and Minako are in a stable relationship. Aimi's parents have been dead a long-time and she is self-employed, having never attended college. Minako is a college student of the same age who comes from a traditional family. When Minako brings Aimi home, her parents become angry that she will not find a man and pass on the legacy of the household. Minako refuses to take the next step in their relationship without her parent's blessing. Aimi supports Minako for a while as her parents give her no end to the grief.  However she becomes resentful that Minako is so dependent on others, having become prideful of being independent. Minako finds that out and the two argue before Aimi leaves her. This causes her parents to become even more set in their ways, seeing this as evidence that women's love relationships should only be for the very young girls as practice for real relationships and that staying in them longer is a sign of emotional immaturity. Minako becomes depressed to the point of mentally abusing herself, hating her own orientation. Aimi is alone and also becomes depressed before finally realizing that she isn't as dependent as she thinks, that she needs people too and more then anything depends on Minako. Minako's parents watch Minako's condition deteriorate and realize how much they suffering their daughter is truly going through. The climax of the story comes when Aimi apologizes and goes through a long involved process trying to make it up to Minako, who comes through her depression. Minako's parents give their blessing to the couple and they live together.

Now I read all three of these as you might be able to tell and they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. YES, Yuri for Guys has it's own strengths, get off your high horses, fictional series made for fun entertainment are not exploiting all of womenkind. Yuri for Guys can be just downright fun, and also the most likely to explore a relationship from the start. However it can also be kinda comically unrealistic, repetitive and use stereotypes that are really hard to relate to if you are actually a woman. Shoujo Yuri is the most imaginative I'd argue and the one that can be just outright adorable all the time with lots of cutesy-ness and female love (platonic too) shown. However it can also be manipulative and aspire to a level of depth it can't really back up. Josei Yuri has the most complex characters, realistic, relatable characters and is most likely to make actual points about LGBT culture and reception in Japan. However it is often the darkest and most audience-alienating with it's presentation, and tends to be the most hostile to what it perceives as harmful to Lesbians in Japan, including Traditional Religion, the Government, Men, Foreign Influences, etc.


They all have their strengths and weaknesses and none are "better" then the others in my opinion. I personally prefer Shoujo Yuri but that's just me.

Types of Multiverse

So I recently watched the Imaginary Axis' Video "Marvel's Guide to the Multiverse." It's a good video and I would definitely recommend watching it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAt0xpQe934

The Imaginary Axis is a Youtube channel I am a big fan of using Pop Cuture to discuss scientific, metaphysical, and philosophical arguments. I occasionally would argue with Tyler on minor points but for the most part I think he is very well informed of both the pop culture he is talking about and the scientific, metaphysical, and philosophical points he's talking about. Although obviously that's just me.

In his latest video he talked about Multiverse Types Briefly and I just wanted to make a quick (hopefully) blog partially responding to parts of his video but mostly wanting to give a slightly expansion by explanation in more detail what these types of multiverses are and what their implications. I will try and be brief and speak in layman's terms since I know some people don't possess the same interest in the most esoteric elements that I do.

He starts out with a very good point, that a lot of these are difficult to talk about partially because the terms are so ill-defined. As such I want to talk about the term "Universe" means for a second.

"Universe" comes from the Latin "Universus". "Uni-" means one and "versus" means "turned" so Universe means literally "Turned into one" or "Everything we perceive considered as one thing" And that leads to several different definitions of universe today.

One definition as my old Science teacher insisted is that Universe simply means everything. Obviously if Universe means everything there is no Multiverse, because you can't have Multi-Everything, as Everything consists of every individual thing.

The other common definitions are "a spacetime set and all within it" and "everything that we can percieve to the very edges of observable spacetime". The later is referred to the as the "Observable Universe". The most common definition seems to be the spacetime set one and so I will be using that and referring to the second as "Observable Universe" when I wish to refer to it. The observable Universe has a measure of 93 Billion Lightyears in diameter

The Universe itself has 3 general models with variations in each about what it's size and shape is. Finite, Unbounded, and Infinite.

Finite is the most obvious model. Spacetime has a definite size that may or may not be the same as the observable universe dimensions. What happens when you reach the end of space? Well because space and time are the same, it's the same as reaching the end of spacetime, which in this case is some kind of end to the universe, a big crunch or rip or freeze...nasty business for sure.

I'll get back to infinite in a second but first I want to talk about the Unbounded Model. It may sound strange at first since how could something be neither finite or infinite? Those are negations. Well the Unbounded model holds the universe in some regards but not in others. The most common depiction is that space curves so that if you go far enough eventually you will reach back to where you came from, sort of like a game of Pac-Man. It's like walking on the surface of a sphere, just not in 3-dimensions.

And then we have the infinite universe model. There is arguments for all 3 of these to be sure but this one probably raises the most questions for the typical person. If the universe is infinite and I go far enough will I ever run into another me? After all there is only a finite number of combinations of particles and infinite space so eventually I have to be duplicated. You are correct, hypothetical person. In an infinite universe, there is bound to be not just an exact copy of your observable universe right now, but an infinite number of copies. This brings me to the first of the 4 Rough Multiverse categories, all of which Tyler explained in his two Multiverse videos

Type 1: The Quilted Multiverse Theory
This is at least the name Tyler uses for it though this one in particular has many names. Now all 4 Multiverse Types have people arguing for whether or not they are true, and 3 of them have people arguing whether they are possible, or at all logical evaluations of the data.

However no one is arguing that this type is impossible. There are plenty who argue it's not true or real but it's physical possibilities is accepted by essentially everyone and it goes as follows:

Because an observable universe is by necessity finite, it's perfectly possible that one could have two "Observable Universes" in an overarching Universe. By having two "Observable Universes" one could have a "Multiverse". It's pretty simple, no?

Now I am very much into DC. I am not much into Marvel, although I believe I can say I have more information then the average person. As far I know, neither Marvel or DC have confirmed a Quilted Multiverse although neither have denied it. See any combination of these 4 types of multiverses are possible, ranging from none of them to all of them being true. They are independent of each other.

So it's possible though as far I know unconfirmed if there is a "Quilted Multiverse Theory" in either or both of Marvel and DC. The DC Universe I know has been confirmed to extend 100 Trillion Light Years from Earth so it definitely has room for such a Multiverse.

This brings up an interesting philosophical question, which is the distinction between a Quilted Multiverse Theory and an Unbound Universe. If you travel to an identical observable universe in this model then the you of that observable universe also traveled to an identical universe in the same direction which begs the question of it being in fact the same you and same universe. If the Universe is so big that it contains exact copies of the observable universe if you travel far enough, is it a copy or it actually the same thing?

Type 2: Bubble Universes
This theory holds that because of space's extension, little pockets form like bubbles which contain their own physical laws. What we perceive as our universe, our observable universe is merely the small patch in the original Singularity whose space has been so expanded that it is our Observable Universe.

This was done mostly to explain how come our universe seems to have such regular-ness if we come from an extremely chaotic Singularity of the Big Bang. Since the original Singularity at the moment of the Big Bang must have been intensely chaotic it doesn't seem to make sense that our universe would have uniform physical laws, but it could be we exist in a bubble that was formed from a small patch of the space of the singularity that has expanded to be our current observable universe.

This theory also holds generally that bubbles can combine or separate, much like physical bubbles we know. This is often done to explain certain oddities of our universe.

Type 3: Quantum Multiverse:
The most common Multiverse depicted in fiction due it's possibilities but also the one that makes physicists most uncomfortable. Commonly called the "Many Worlds Interpretation" this is the interpretation that the breakdown of phase space we perceive is not ACTUALLY a breakdown but instead us merely perceiving one possible outcome.

Their are two models: The Probabilistic Quantum Multiverse and the Ultimate Ensemble Quantum Multiverse.

For the first one imagine that we live in a video game, where the only thing that's loaded is where the players are because the game doesn't want to load the entire gameworld at once. Now when you travel to a certain spot a die is rolled. If it rolls a 6, there is a monster attack. The Probabilistic Quantum Multiverse suggest there are 6 "Universes" that emerge from this encounter:

A Universe where 1 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 2 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 3 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 4 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 5 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 6 is rolled: Monster Attack!

But what if the die is weighted towards 6 so the chance of getting a 6 is 50%? In that case 10 "Universes" will emerge from the encounter:
A Universe where 1 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 2 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 3 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 4 is rolled: No Monster Attack
A Universe where 5 is rolled: No Monster Attack
5 Universes where 6 is rolled: Monster Attack!

((OK, in fairness it's a LOT more then 6 or 10 universes. It's actually the same number in both cases...this is just the proportions. In the first 1/6 of the universes are Monster Attack, and in the second 1/2 of the universes are Monster Attack))

The alternative however comes from Max Tegmark's Concept of the "Ultimate Ensemble". That any set that can be mathematical expressed does in fact exist so long as it meats necessary physical conditions of a universe. In this case there are are an infinite amount of die roll universes. Infinite 1s. Infinite 2s. Infinite 3s. all the way to Infinite 6s and Monster Attacks.

Both Marvel and DC have this. DC's called "The Metaverse" is linked to their idea of "Hypertime" and the idea of Metafiction that runs throughout DC's Higher Dimensions. However DC also possess a Brane Multiverse as well (the two together are called Quantum Brane Multiverse...very creative I know). Before I watched Tyler's video I was not aware of Marvel having or not having this and at first from his explanation it seemed they didn't have a Brane Multiverse. And that's kind of a problem.

This is the thing that make a lot of physicists really uncomfortable with the Quantum Multiverse, in particular the Ultimate Ensemble. There are scientific objections but there is one argument that is a philosophical argument that takes it as true and has horrifying implications...the "Problem of Meaning"

The Problem of Meaning works as follows. If we define meaningful action as action that would have a consequence, IE an action that would result in a different cosmos even slightly if you didn't do it, then this type of Multiverse alone doesn't allow for ANY meaningful action.

If you save a baby's life in this Multiverse then there exists just as many universes where you did not. If you rob a bank in this Multiverse then there exists just as many universes where you did not. If you let yourself slowly die from inaction because you realize the futility of it all, there exists just as many universes where you did not. Every action you commit therefore has no meaning whatsoever. Free Will might still exist but only depending on how you define free will and regardless it can't make any impact. It's a very very sobering possibility if this is the correct view of the Multiverse. Tyler is right to call into question it's ontological implications. If the Avengers fail to stop Loki, does it matter?

Now he tries to explain away this problem in a strictly Quantum Multiverse and I give props for the attempt. It was noble and fairly strong but this is an extremely difficult problem for philosophers and I don't think his first response really explains it.

The first response is that there exists "Free Agents" that allow for some degree of meaningful impact, including travelers between two Universes, and A-Universal Beings.

Travelers between universes are beings that travel between universes and thus are causing a shift on a different universe. However this is insufficient to solve the problem since every decision they do in the other universe has as many universes where they did not. There are exactly as many universes where they didn't even travel to the other universe. Their impact can not solve the Problem of Meaning so long as all universes involve are strictly Ultimate Ensemble Quantum Universes.

The other proposed solution from within the Model is the A-Universal Beings. Beings that don't belong to a universe specifically but can impact them. While this is somewhat of a solution, it doesn't work based on that description of how they act. Example: The Living Tribunal. The Living Tribunal destroys universals which are bad. This may seem to give meaning, but since the same number of universals will become bad as before, this is not giving any meaning since within the universes there is the same number of bad outcomes as good outcomes.

However he then brought in information that made me quite happy personally

Type 4: The Brane Multiverse
This is the final Multiverse and the hardest to really understand but I will do my best.

Imagine a 3-Dimensional Cube like a die. Imagine the universe is one of the 6 "faces" of the die. The beings of the universe have a sense that their are other universes and moreover that the universes are arranged in some kind of larger "pattern" but can't grasp it.

You can extend this pattern into higher dimensions, and that's basically branes. That what we perceive as the observable universe is actually a "face" or aspect of a larger Higher-Dimensional Structure.

If you add Branes to a Quantum Multiverse then it automatically fixes the Problem of Meaning. You see if there is an object in higher-dimensional constant, then that adds a "Multiversal Constant". The minute you add a Multiversal Constant you change everything because suddenly even an Ultimate Ensemble Multiverse does not cover every possible permutation but instead has common traits.

This perhaps sounds very esoteric, so let me give you the example Tyler himself gives. Because something interesting turns up in Spider-Man comics. Here's the link for Tyler explaining it himself.

You know, Spider-Man has always been my favorite Marvel Hero, and a lot of people underestimate the important Spidey has to the Marvel Universe has as a whole. Spider-Man has come to act as the sort of collective conscious of the Marvel Universe, sometimes even the writers themselves. One good example is Civil War. Spider-Man starting out surprisingly joining Iron Man and the Pro-Registration side after much considerations since initially the Writers of Marvel wanted Civil War to be a grey conflict with arguments on both sides but ultimately favoring Pro-Registration. However as they contemplated this and realized overtime it went against everything they had stood for (not to mention had way better talent on the Anti-Registration Side) Spider-Man turned away from them and joined the resistance. Spider-Man changing sides essentially mirrored the Marvel Writer's change in what they believed. As this sort of councious of the more grey Marvel Universe, it makes alot of sense why people would be very shocked if Peter, oh I don't know, MADE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL SELLING HIS MARRAGE AND RETCONNING THE PAST FOR HIS OWN MISTAKE! But occasional slip-ups aside Peter is to me the best example of Marvel at it's best, a person with only ever JUST enough time, energy, and power to do the right thing, always struggling to be responsible and take the world on without despair.

This is vaguely the core of Spider-Man. That he is always going to be scrapping by trying to do everything and yet will always do the right thing even if it means personal sacrifice and try and face the world with an optimistic grin. And it's this "Core" that leads to an interesting effect. In the "Spider-Verse" series, it's revealed that a Higher-Dimensional being called "The Great Weaver" deliberately makes it so that a Spider-Man entity, someone with that core (Plus Spider powers) appears in every universe in order to "keep the multiverse in check". Consider the implications.

There isn't a universe without a Spider-Man entity in the Marvel Multiverse (at least not the main one). Even if Spider-Man fails in one or more universes, his impact will always be there. He has made a meaningful impact on each universe for no other reason then because he is in each one. And because of what he is at his core, that impact for each universe is almost exclusively a net positive. Even if this was the ONLY example of this, that means that anything that interacts with Spider-Man and by extension the Great Weaver, has impact and meaning. Because the multiverse as a whole would be different without it. If Spider-Man say....Rallies a Group of Teenagers to stop doing drugs, there isn't a universe formed where he doesn't show up and rally them. There are some where he fails presumably, but that is a net positive for the multiverse as a whole. It solves the Problem of Meaning. And while most marvel Metahumans have interacted with Spiderman and thus the Great Weaver in some way or another even if thorough many degrees, it's perfectly plausible that other higher Dimensional Beings made it so that they are Multiversal Constants as well. Good Ol Spider-Man comics come through yet again.

This also sheds a new light of the Marvel Cosmics. See if they exist on higher branes as the Great Weaver, as they basically must for the higher-ups, then they cause the same effect:

Infinity thus imposes space as a necessity for the Multiverse, preventing universes without space from existing.
Eternity thus imposes time as a necessity for the Multiverse, preventing universes without time from existing.
Death imposes dying as a necessity for the Multiverse, preventing universes without dying from existence (save for the one obviously)
Oblivion imposes non-existence as a necessity for the Multiverse, preventing universes without the void from existence
And of course The Living Tribunal thus imposes his three concepts upon the Multiverse in the same way

The implication of these is unknown but it forces meaning to exist simply because there is not an identical amounts of potential universes, which means certain actions cause most universes of a certain type then others.

This is vaguely analogous to something DC Does. In DC the beings of the Sphere of the Gods, the Old Gods like Zeus and Odin, the New Gods like Darkseid and Highfather, and so forth are non-Quantum and exists on a higher spatial dimension brane then the Mortal Universes. As such an "aspect" of them is seen in every universe. Either an Avatar of them (the infamous Darkseid Avatars) or just their general concept appears in some form. At the top there is the 7 Endless; Destiny, Dream, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire, and Delirium. The Endless are Wave Functions. Wave Functions are Functions in Infinite-Spatial Dimensions of a Brane Multiverse who act as ultimate Constants for every Dimension. Or at Destruction puts it so eloquently "patterns".

If I had to guess I would say that this is probably the old Marvel idea of "M-Bodies" of the Living Tribunal and the idea of Infinity being part of Multi-Infinity, Eternity being part of Multi-Eternity and so forth. These are simply the part seen from this "universe" in lower dimensional space.

*phew* Didn't expect this to be so long. I mostly meant this as a response and expansion of The Imaginary Axis' video on Multiverse Types and Marvel and DC. Hope you at least enjoyed this probably long and rambly blog.

VS Debating and the 7 Planes

7 Planes in the vs community:

If you’ve been in the Versus Community a while you’ve probably heard of the concept of verse equalization. This is why common arguments like “Bleach/Madoka characters are invisible if the opponent doesn’t have reiatsu/magic” are not applicable in common versus debates and why we assume characters can protect against certain haxes from another verse if they have shown a resistance to something like it. This is because these ideas are based on the same ideas, ideas formalized initially in Medieval Europe with the conception of the 7 planes. It is this idea, developed with modern Occultism and Mysticism (which frequently mix with high-end physics and metaphysics) that most haxes are based on. This blog will illustrate from the classical standpoint what it means to have powers on the plane, what those haxes and what should be expected to happen from their usage

Note however that the Rule 0 of debating occurs, an author can override any of this merely by stating “it works like this in my verse”. This is merely an analysis of the default nature of these planes based on their traditional conception, not meant to bind all fictions if they use these concepts differently.

Plane 1: Physical Plane

Associated Heavenly Sphere: Lunar Sphere

The Densest plane is the so-called “physical plane”, the plane of all that we observe with the 5 physical senses: Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch. To the materialist, this is all that exists, and everything on the higher planes are merely metaphors or analogies for physical existence.

It is this plane that our attention is drawn to, and what the vast majority of fiction is concerned with primarily. On each plane, save potentially the last one, each plane is divided into 2; The “Yang” Principle, which is Warmer, Masculine, Active and the “Yin” Principle which is Cooler, Feminine, Passive. However while these are seemingly opposite halves they really flow into one in separate whole, each giving meaning and definition to each other. On the Physical Plane, these Masculine and Feminine halves are Energy and Matter respectively. Matter is the Passive Phenomena, the series of interlocking atoms and molecular and chemicals that warps spacetime towards it with its cosmic gravitational field. Energy is the Active Phenomena, the waves of energy whose motions, quicker or slower, shape all the matter in the universe and create the charges of the powerful electromagnetic fields that penetrate through gravitational fields to bring change and possibility to an otherwise deterministic universe.

The truth of the matter is you can’t have matter or energy without the other in the same way that you can’t have a noun or an adjective without each other. Matter without energy is doing nothing. It’s not moving which is kinetic energy, it’s emanating heat which is thermal energy, it does not even ever have the potential to exist or take action as that would be potential energy. IT is similar to a noun that no adjective gives any description to (including opposite adjectives like existence and nonexistent), it’s similar an absurd concept. Likewise Energy without matter is describing the action of N/A. It is trying to describe the action of…..not even nothing/the void, it is an action without a subject, a metaphysical impossibility. It is like an adjective without a noun, it is simply not describing something.

In versus debating, controlling the physical plane means matter manipulation or energy manipulation. To control matter generally mean things like causing matter to shift at your will, or changing matter from one form to another. A Classic Example would be King Midas’s Golden Touch, where anything he touched to matter. Energy Manipulation generally means things like reflection energy back at the opponent, absorbing energy, or sometimes more exotic things like turning into energy (Although “pure” energy without matter as mentioned above is an impossibility) etc. An example of an energy manipulation in fiction is Queen Metallia from Sailor Moon who absorbs and drains the energy of the environment, rending it cold, dark and lifeless. However Matter-Energy Manipulation should theoretically be far more powerful then just this. If someone is a high enough level Matter-Energy manipulator, it should theoretically give them control of the 4 Fundamental Forces. These 4 Fundamental Forces:

Gravity: The Distortion of Spacetime caused by objects with Mass. Think of a heavy object on a bed and how the bed sinks down in the shape of the object….that is what objects with mass do to spacetime. Extremely Weak as a Fundamental Forces (By jumping you can overcome the gravity of the whole Earth) but makes up for it with Infinite Range. You are giving off a gravitational force on every object in the entire universe right now, though it is extremely small on distant galaxies.  

Electromagnetism: Governs the Energy Charges of Matter. Two Positive Charges Repel, Two Negative Charges Repel, One of Each will attract. Always moves at lightspeed (light is an electromagnetic wave). The Range and Strength are determined by the amount of energy. Even the movements of atoms are governed by electromagnetic charges, and these atoms and the sub-atomic phase space they govern, control probability of events.

Strong Nuclear Force: The Binding Force of the Atom. It is the reason that Protons, all positively charged, can be packed together in the nucleus of an atom against the will of Electromagnetism, the Strong Nuclear Force holds them there. It’s range is only that of the Atomic Nucleus but it is ridiculously strong, the strongest fundamental force. It is by the manipulation of this force that humanity accomplished splitting the atom…the immense power being released being the force of the atomic explosion. It is also this power that fuels nuclear factories.

Weak Nuclear Force: This is the hardest to explain. The Weak Nuclear Force causes a radioactive decay of components of the sub-atomic particles. This allows it to do something no other force can do, which is convert one form of particle into another. It is this decay and conversion that allows the Sun to shine and produce light/heat, since the production of these things in a star comes from this force. This force is also notable in that it was observed that it is was the only force that violated CP symmetry. What this means is essentially this is the reason that the “arrow of time” flies one way, why Entropy exists….the other 3 Fundamental Forces are all Time-Reversible while if the Weak Force does something, in a closed system, it is not reversible. It is the two nuclear forces used together that allows for the process of Atomic Fusion, the theoretical power source for the next decade which will supply the Earth with immense useable energy.

These Forces rule the Physical World and are in turned ruled by Matter and Energy.

A High-Level Gravity Manipulator could create miniature or full-size black holes, draw whatever wanted, even the whole universe, into a giant singularity, distort relative spacetime to give superspeed and reflexes or time travel into the future, repel all threats at the speed of light, or increase the mass of their fists to arbitrarily high mass.

A High-Level Electromagnetism Manipulator can move infinitely close to lightspeed, accelerate their punches to the same level to hit with arbitrary energy, shut down or reprogram peoples’ brains by manipulating the electro-magnetic currents, cause any two objects to repel or attract at lightspeed, or control the probability of an event by manipulating the energy of the atoms determining the event.

A High-Level Strong Force User can cause atomic explosions, or if they want cause every atom in an opponent’s body to spontaneously turn into their own atomic explosion, can form whole atoms by binding a bunch of floating protons together with the electrons automatically forming around them, which could be used to drain the energy of an environment in exchange for new mass or creating new objects…money, houses, people, worlds….they can be made by binding enough floating loose void protons together…and in a fight they can just restructure every atomic bond in the person’s bond, shifting every atom into something new.

A High-Level Weak Force User could do the most unpredictable thing in the world….by manipulating beta decay, they could form entirely new atoms. What this means is speculative but it would involve without question whole new elements and entirely new forms of matter. A Weak Force User with enough precision could also transmute matter from one form to another, although this would still need to obey the laws of entropy, that within a closed system, some energy would become unusable in the process meaning things could only change to certain other things.

To have full control of the Physical Plane, is to be a high-level energy-matter manipulator and consequently able to do ALL of these.

Before we move on from the Physical Plane I must discuss one more hax that seem related to the physical plane….spacetime manipulation. Spacetime are their own form of Yin-Yang Principle but relate strongly to the nature of planes themselves.

Let me start by saying a Dimension is simply a degree of separation between two things when they would otherwise be in the same place. If two points both exist, they are separate due to a line, a singular dimension. If two points would exist at the same place as each other on a line they are separated by a plane, a second dimension. If two points would exist at the same place on a plane, they are separated by a sphere, a third dimension. If two points would exist in the same place in spatial sphere, they are separated by the time they were there, a fourth dimension. If two points have no degree of separation, they are the same thing. What we call “Space” is a dimension we can move more or less freely in. What we call “Time” is a dimension we can’t move freely in. However they are effectively the same thing, which is why they merge together at c (the speed of light in a vacuum). Physical Dimensions represent degrees of separation of physical matter and energy. These Dimensions are the same spacetime as Higher Planes, but are experienced differently. Manipulations of spacetime mean different things on different planes, but on the physical plane, manipulations of spacetime means altering the separation between two or more bodies of mass-energy. Even Stopping Time entirely, is essentially just making the distance between all the bodies of mass-energy in one moment (the present moment) and the bodies of mass-energy in the next moment, and making that distinct infinite (or however long the Time Stop lasts)

Plane 1.5: Aether

While often considered along the planes, The Aether is not a proper plane. I should properly explain what a “plane” is. A Plane is a state of existence characterized by a certain level of consciousness. Aether is not in fact a state of counciousness or a form of existence. There is no classical Aetheric Body, well sorta but we’ll get into that. Also it is not an energy, though many in the New Age Culture will describe it as an energy if only because it is convenient to understand it’s effects. 

What the Aether actually is, is that it is the effects of the Higher Planes on our plane…it is how we measure and know the higher planes. In a way, we do have Aetheric Body….however this body is really the physical body with the effects of the higher plane noted on it.

The most common way of studying aether’s effect on the body is via the system of the 7 chakras developed in India, which links the 7 Planes to 7 places of body in order from the Groin chakra connected to the Physical Plane to the Crown chakra connected to the Monadic Plane.

Aether’s effect on the external world is also claimed to be measured in concepts like “leylines” “vortexes” and other such phenomena of the land.

Manipulation of Aether in Fiction is essentially the fictionalized version of “pressure points” and the like. More broadly, it would allow for a form of death manipulation, severing one’s body from all higher bodies. One could use Harry Potter’s “Avada Kevada” and Sailor Saturn’s “Power of Death” as examples of this.

Aether actually forms around oneself based on the position of one’s higher bodies, this flow creates what is called an “aura”.

Plane 2: Astral Plane:

Associated Heavenly Sphere: Mercurial Sphere

The Astral Body we have is what is commonly called “The Soul”. It is formed not from matter and energy, but from emotions, as is all the Astral Plane. The Astral Plane’s duality is the duality of the Masculine Will and The Feminine Desire.

Desire is the wanted things, the desire to attract things, which draws the Will which wants to actively attain them. Just as energy acts on matter, and the two are inseparable, Will acts on Desire and the two are inseparable. The Union of these two is generally what is referred to when fiction refers to someone’s Heart in some kind of symbolic way. While an Astral Being would inhabit the same spacetime as we do, to them this separation would be different. “Astral Space” is a separation of desire, two beings that have a separation of what is wanted to happen to them…they would inhabit different “places”, these places being the desires of each. “Astral Time” is a separation of will, two beings that have a separation of what they want to do. They act at a different “moment”, this moment being their individual wills. To share a Soul with someone, is to be of the same Desire and Will, the same emotive feeling and “Heart”.

From a versus standpoint, someone with astral plane manipulation is someone who has soul manipulation on a higher level. To manipulate just an individual’s astral plane correspondence would be direct soul manipulation.

To cut someone’s astral body away from their physical body….or “soul-stealing” would be to render their body as an inanimate object and leave the individual unable to interact with the physical plane. If one destroyed someone’s soul, it would cause one’s body to disappear, since the mass-energy that makes one’s physical body is merely an emanation of one’s will and desire to exist in the physical realm.

You could also be able to manipulate a specific section. Will Manipulation would be a manipulation of one’s Ability to Will themselves into active. Desire Manipulation would be a manipulation of one’s passive wants (including to survive for instance).

Plane 3: The Mental Plane

Associated Heavenly Sphere: Venusian Sphere

The Mental body is what we commonly call “The Mind”. It is not formed from matter and energy, but from thoughts. It is divided into the Masculine Logos and the Feminine Dream.

The Active Logos is the Rational Component of the Mind which divides things into sections and sub-sections. It is this section which helps us understand “possible” “impossible” “probable” “Improbable” and so forth.

The Passive Dream is the Emotional Component of the Mind that makes free associations between concepts that the structured Logos can’t make. It does not shape it’s externality, but is instead shaped by it, but manipulates it through being shaped. One’s Dream is the psychological associations one makes between two concepts.

In this way “Mental Space” would represent a separation of Dreams. Two Mental Beings inhabit “places” that represent the web of free associations they make. Conversely “Mental Time” would represent a degree of separation of Logos.  Two Mental Beings would act at a different “moment” that moment being what they divide the world into. To be of the same mind as someone is to share 

Both Logos and Dream with them.

From a versus standpoint, someone who has mental plane manipulation has mind manipulation on a higher level. To manipulate someone’s mental body only, is mental manipulation.

To cut someone’s mind away from their lower bodies, would leave their bodies inert and their souls unguided, acting it’s will and feeling desire at complete random. If one destroyed the mind of another, it would cause body and soul to cease to exist. If one could control Logos, one could manipulate someone’s ability to logically divide things into categories and leave them in a passive state. If one could control Dream, one could wreck an opponent’s ability to perceive connections or consider possible futures.

Plane 4: Unity/Buddhic/Ego Plane

Associated Heavenly Sphere: Solar Sphere

Very rarely used in fiction, this many-named plane is possibly so rare because it’s easy to confuse with the Mental Plane. The Unity Plane is the plane of pure consciousness, without thought, feeling, or form. This plane is the center plane and acts as the nexus between the higher planes and the lower planes. This is the plane where one realizes the illusory nature of the separation of self and other. Below are the planes of the Conscious and above are the planes of the Unconscious. The Body of this plane is called the “Ego”. This plane is divided into the Masculine Projection and the Feminine Shadow.

The Active Projection is the viewing of the internal psyche in the external cosmos. The Passive Shadow is the viewing of the external cosmos in the internal psyche.

“Ego Space” is a degree of separation between two Ego-counciousnesses with different shadows, effected differently by the external cosmos. “Ego Time” is the degree of separation of different Ego-consciousness seeing different parts of the internal world in the external cosmos. Two Beings who share Shadow and Projection are the same being.

From a versus standpoint, Manipulation on this plane is exceedingly rare. I know personally of only two examples of attacks on this plane. The first is the “Rikudo Rinne” of Virgo Shaka from Saint Seiya. This attack forces the affected to experience the 6 Worlds of Buddhist Reincarnation and forcing the victim to fall into one of them. The second is the “Omega Sanction” of Darkseid. This attack causes the victim to experience lifetime after lifetime, each progressively more drained of light and hope until the victim experiences nothing but despair and willingly serves Darkseid. An attack on this plane is an attack directly on the affected’s consciousness.

To cut someone’s ego away from their lower bodies, would leave their bodies inert, their souls unguided, acting it’s will and feeling desire at complete random, and their minds utterly lost in confusion, thinking thoughts without direction. If you destroyed the ego-consciousness of an individual, their mind, soul, and body would cease to exist. If one could manipulate the Projection, then one could manipulate another’s projection, causing them to see their own psyche in their external cosmos….this may be the “see your worst fear” cliché power. If one could manipulate the Shadow, then one could manipulate another’s psychological reaction to the cosmos, causing dread, misery, anger, horror, disgust, or any other reaction at any level to any external stimuli.

Plane 5: Spiritual Plane

Associated Heavenly Sphere: Martian Sphere

The Spiritual Body is what we commonly call The Spirit. The Spirit is the presence of the individual and all its effects. This is why speak of the spirit of the deceased with us. Everything has a Spirit, “The Spirit of the Era”, “The Spirit of the Land”, “The Spirit of the Law”, etc.  A Spirit refers to that thing’s presence and influence.

Spirit is formed of two elements, the Masculine Levitas, and the Feminine Gravitas. Levitas refers to the lightness of spirit, while Gravitas refers to the Heaviness of Spirit.

The Active Levitas refers to the active spirit, the presence that is constantly growing in scope. The Passive Gravitas refers to the passive spirit, the presence that is constantly growing deeper.

From a versus standpoint, spiritual attacks are attacks on one’s presence in the universe. To actually destroy one’s spirit is an almost unthinkably hard action, requiring one to destroy all of the opponent’s presence on the universe, including on oneself. If two enemies affect each other at all, which they must by nature of being in the same universe, then one needs to remove the influences of the enemy from oneself in order to destroy all of the enemies’ presence, their spirit. Essentially this kind of attack would require one to “Un-make” them, wiping them from cause-and-effect and leave not a single memory of them. Universal Reality-Warping at least.

Manipulation of just Levitas, can be used to make the target’s spirit unbearably light….basically make everyone act super super high. More seriously what it would do is make their spirit appear anywhere, even in places they don’t want it to be, such as associating it with evil things or painful things. Manipulation of just Gravitas can be used to make the target’s spirit unbearably heavy….sending them into a crippling depression…to the Medieval Occultists, “Depression” was a supreme excess of Gravitas in the spirit. One could use this to cause one’s spirit to become so deep that they no longer care about anything (or observe anything) or can affect anything exterior (making someone’s spirit TOO deep is the equivalent of putting their physical body in an extremely deep hole with no way to get out).  

Plane 6: The Abstract/Divine Plane

Associated Heavenly Body: The Jupiterian Sphere

The Abstract Body or Divine Body is what we call the “Concept”. It is one’s original concept, one’s Star Seed, one’s True Name, one’s Divine Spark, etc. The division is present at this plane, between Masculine Signifier and Feminine Signified but at this level it’s no longer REALLY relevant to speak of.

Abstract Concepts are referred to in what we call “WFFs” or “Well-Formed Formulations”. These can be anything you can possibly conjure up in your brain. Concepts fall into three categories, Contradictory (Are False in every Set), Tautological (Are True in every Set), and Contingent (True in at least 1 set and False in at least on Set).

Almost every concept you can think of is contingent. Love, War, Humanity, Death, etc. all are contingent. Contradictory Concepts, are generally paradoxical concepts like “Blue and Not-Blue” which can never be true and do not as of such exist. Tautological….we’ll get to.

From a versus standpoint, destroy one’s concept is essentially to destroy one completely. Abstract Plane Warfare essentially involves making the enemy “False” in as many sets as possible.  Each Universe is 1 Set, though a Set can be more or less then a universe.

One such Universe is the Empty Universe, the Empty Set. If you reduce your opponent to “nothing”, they their concept will be “True” in the empty set since nothing “exists” in the empty set. To destroy an opponent conceptually counter-intuitively requires “ADDING” to them, forcing their concept to be paradoxical such as adding the clause “Cannot be in any set” to their concept. To imagine Abstract Warfare, imagine both of your sides are wooden ships trying to cause the other ship to sink. Most clauses are like throwing wadded up pieces of paper on the other ship, while clauses that are like getting a cannonball into their hull.

Generally to destroy someone conceptually requires multiversal reality-warping. It may seem that conceptual manipulation is the most powerful form of manipulation possible since it can alter any possible rule of how things work, but there is one plane higher.

Plane 6.5: The Absolute

At the Boundary of the Sixth and Seventh Plane there exists the Tautologies. Concepts true in every universe. One example of this is “Blue or Not-Blue”. That is true. Everything is Blue or Not-Blue. Even the empty set is Not-Blue. Logically there cannot be something that is not blue and not Not-Blue since Not-Blue is anything not blue.

Many great philosophers have quarreled over whether numbers are tautologies. Does 2+2=4 in a universe with less than 4 things?

At this level we have something called the Absolute Properties. An Absolute Property is when the property “Absolute” is added to any other property creating “The Form” of that thing. If something is absolute that means it acts ad axiom as that thing.

From a versus standpoint, essentially EVERY NLF is a misapplied “Absolute” Property. Let me take a classic example… “Perfect Attack” and “Perfect Defense” from Exalted. Perfect Defense blocks any attack, Perfect Attack automatically hits past any defense except Perfect Defense. Now Perfect Attack is OBVIOUSLY not absolute since Perfect Defense protects against it.

However neither are actually absolute since both are only in the context of one set (Exalted). An actual Absolute Property is true regardless of context, meaning it is nigh-impossible to use in a versus community though there is one way which I will explain later.

THEOLOGICAL WARNING: The following is going to go into very deep mystical metaphysical knowledge rooted in Kabbalah. In Jewish Tradition one should not study Kabbalah until the age of 40 and in the past it was even forbidden too. The knowledge below can supposedly bring depression, meaningless, mania, obsessiveness, and a host of other problems if one is not prepared. It can also cause spontaneous enlightenment.  

Plane 7: The Monadic/Logoic/Absolute Plane

Associated Heavenly Sphere: Saturnian Sphere

This plane is also not used much, though more than the Ego Plane. To even describe this plane is difficult, but as best as can be explained this plane is about the relation of the final duality which does not really exist, that of one-ness and zero-ness.  Keter and Ein Sof.

To understand these two concepts you must consider the ideas of one-ness and zero-ness for a moment, supposed Tao and Nirvana.

From the perspective of one-ness there is 1 without division. There can be no traits of this one-ness because that would be an additional THING for there to be more than one. There is 1, nothing else.

From the perspective of zero-ness there can be not even that. There can’t even be a zero-ness, it is a paradoxical concept that cannot be for it would cause itself to not be.

Imagine if Zero-ness was and be being there was one-ness, and because there was Zero and 1, there was 2, and because there was 0, 1 and 2, there was 3. This process applied to all numbers until there were so many that all existence was spelled out in their relations. That is creation from the divine perspective.

This plane is called the Hyperplane for it defines the natures of all the lower planes….on this plane the infinitely active 1 acts upon the infinite passive 0 to create all the infinities and finites and everything else forming all things.

It is the revelation of this plane that shows we are paradoxically part of 1 and 0 at the same time, every action infinitely meaningful and meaningless. In 1 and 0 there is nothing distinct of us from everything else. We are part of the self-contemplation of the being of paradoxical nothing-ness.

From a versus standpoint, there actually is a hax that sort of sums up absolute-ness and the Monadic Plane….Metafictional Manipulation. Manipulating one’s own fictional medium is a pretty good representation of the nature of the Hyperplane, for it is a control of the layer of reality that is truly is supreme and also encapsulates all the other planes.