Welcome To The Final Installation Of "overanalyzing The Warners," At Least For Now. I Present My Ultimate

Welcome to the final installation of "overanalyzing the Warners," at least for now. I present my ultimate Animaniacs fan theory: the Warners could have been dezanitized. In fact, they almost were.

This is going to be a very long post.

First, I want to talk about the fundamental nature of the Warner siblings as I see it. They are chaotic, they abide by only their own rules, they act as a painful check on society's uppity adults. Generally, the show presents it as if they are this way by default; that's just their character, and there's no changing it.

I have a different viewpoint. The Warners clearly have free will. Yes, they were created with certain fundamental character traits. That doesn't prevent them from changing, though. We all have fundamental personality traits we acquired at a very young age. Does that prevent us from changing our nature, or acting against it at times? Not at all. The Warners act the way they do because they choose to, not because they were pre-programmed to always be that way. Look at their origin: created to be zany cartoon stars, by an insane artist, which explains some of their more outlandish traits. However, they didn't rebel right away. For the first few years of their existence, they were mostly compliant, acting in company shorts and doing their best to play along. It was only five years later, after the company had enough of playing nice with them, that they began to run around acting crazy. This is all covered in the Warners' 65th Anniversary Special Episode, which I covered in my last big post. In that one, I talk about the events that led up to their contract's cancellation and their eventual capture in the tower. Is it possible that the cancellation, even after all of Wakko's hard work directing his own cartoon short, is what drove them to be so antagonistic to the studio? In any case, it's clear in my mind that this was a conscious choice on their part.

Welcome To The Final Installation Of "overanalyzing The Warners," At Least For Now. I Present My Ultimate

"We're the Warner Brothers!"

"Like the studio?"

"Not very much, but we don't have a choice." -Yakko

(Also, look at how offended Wakko is at the mere mention of the studio. If you watch the clip, his expression changes from happy to this at the very instant Pfeiffer mentions the studio.)

That leads me to the episode I'll be focusing on today, "Taming of the Screwy," Episode 5 of the original series. It's appropriate, and perhaps not a coincidence, that this episode takes place so early on in the series. I believe it sets the foundation for everything that comes after.

At the beginning of the episode, we see Dr. Scratchansniff in Mr. Plotz's office. Plotz tells Scratchansniff about an important party they'll be having in honor of some rich foreign investors, who want to meet every employee of the studio- including the Warners. Plotz orders the doctor to teach the Warners good manners and appropriate behavior for the party, which is in 24 hours. Scratchansniff doesn't seem confident in his ability to do this.

In the next scene, the Warners are delivered to his office.

I mostly posted this screenshot so I could point out the portrait of young Scratchansniff in the background there. Never noticed that before today.

The Warners start out with a nice little ditty about Scratchansniff, before he explains to them why they were brought in. They get very excited upon learning they've actually been invited to this big party with all the huge stars. Yakko wants to see Michelle Pfeiffer, Dot wants to see Mel Gibson (heh), and Wakko wants to see Don Knotz, of course. Scratchansniff then tells them that they have to be behaved, clean, and nice children if they want to go. He asks them if they're willing to abide by these terms, and, after discussion, they agree.

This is pretty interesting to me. The Warners can go anywhere they want. There's no doubt they could get into the party whether they were invited or not, and that does in fact happen in the last act of the episode. So, why agree to these terms that they're less than enthused about? It must be because they want to be included officially. They're willing to follow the normal rules and procedure, if they're given the opportunity to do so. The problem is, they're almost never given that opportunity by the studio, so they're forced to do it the chaotic and zany way instead. Their whole lives, the studio has deliberately barred them from feeling any sense of inclusion, making them feel like outsiders, and then gets upset when they act outside of the rules.

Moving on, Scratchansniff begins to teach the kids proper manners. I don't want to highlight every gag in this segment (I greatly recommend watching it for yourself- I think it's one of the funniest episodes), so I'll just summarize. In separate lessons, he tries to teach the Warners how to do a proper greeting, how to enunciate correctly, and how to eat politely. They fail at all of these tasks, but it's very clearly deliberate. They're actually listening to everything Scratchansniff says- they just wanted to have some fun in the process. At the end, when it seems like they're a lost cause, Scratchansniff disinvites them from the party, at which point they show him that they really have learned and perfected everything he's taught them. He asks them why they gave him such a hard time-

"'Cause we love ya!"

And he actually hugs them back!

Now understanding how they operate, Scratchansniff seems to be on their side. He proudly introduces them at the party, and the Warners perfectly follow the proper protocol.

Yakko even cracks a joke in Japanese to the Japanese investors, getting them to laugh. So, not only are they acting politely, but they immediately prove that they can be a great asset to the company if the studio would just let them be on its side.

Of course, the company immediately does the opposite. Just as the Warners get into the party and are about to join the festivities, Plotz orders Scratchansniff to kick the Warners out, because he believes they'll ruin the party (even after having just witnessed Yakko having great chemistry with the investors). Scratchansniff tries to argue against it, but there's not much he can do to stand up to the CEO, so he has to walk over and break the news. The Warners' reaction is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen, period.

"Huh?"

To his credit, Scratchansniff does actually explain why he had to kick them out.

"But we behaved!"

Yakko never seems more like an actual child than right here. Scratchansniff apologizes and walks away.

This is the pivotal moment, not just in this episode, but the entire series. The Warners played along, did everything asked of them, only to be immediately betrayed, a promise broken. This is the moment any possibility of the Warners ever being dezanitized was shattered. They learned that if they try to play along with society's rules, that if they make an effort to be accepted, all they're gonna get is heartbreak. From this point on, they never genuinely try to be polite or "normal" ever again. To them, it's pointless. And it's hard to argue with them.

From the studio's perspective, Plotz dug his own grave, without ever realizing it. He had the Warners exactly where he wanted them. If he just let them stay at the party, prove that their efforts would be rewarded, it could have been the start of a new era. Maybe it wouldn't happen right away, but Scratchansniff would have had the ammunition he needed to work with them more, make real progress, and eventually teach them to control their zaniness. Plotz threw that all away, while continuing to solely blame the Warners for the way they act. These characters aren't even real, and it infuriates me.

The Warners predictably respond in the only way they know how, when they've been spurned by the studio once again. They go back to the party and cause chaos. They do whatever they want. Plotz tries to capture them, making things much worse. In the end, the investors are entertained by the Warners' antics and hand over the billion dollar check to them. Plotz then chases them in pursuit of the check, while Scratchansniff signals that the CEO has gone crazy himself. This ends the episode.

So, I don't think I have to summarize much. The point was made pretty clearly already. I do want to look at this from the writers' perspective. Do I think they intended to put all this deep layered character building in this episode? No, not really, but there are a few subtle hints here and there that seem to work a little too well with my theory. I think it's a possibility that they deliberately structured the plot this way, though it's still unlikely.

I think what this episode is truly meant to be is an important lesson for adults. Most of us probably remember a childhood experience where an adult told us to do something in the promise of a reward, only for that promise to be broken once you go through with their demands. It's a very powerless feeling, because adults always tell children not to lie and make false promises, when many of them don't seem to have an issue doing those things to children. Animaniacs is a very child-oriented show. By that I don't mean that it's childish, but that it shows the world through a child's perspective. According to the show bible, the Warners are meant to do the things children wish they could do to mean and arrogant adults. This episode attempts to teach the lesson that breaking promises to children will only result in mistrust and heartbreak- that children recognize hypocrisy just as well as the rest of us. The Warners do what we wished we could do as children by going back to the adults and basically sticking their tongues out in their faces.

Focusing back on the plot of the show, if anyone ever feels like the Warners are in the wrong for how they act, just watch this episode and you'll understand their perspective a lot better. The studio deserves every torment the Warners can give, because the studio is the one that created not just the Warners, but the conditions that make them do what they do. The studio then hypocritically tries to blame it entirely on the children they've deliberately mistreated since birth. Animaniacs is quite unique in that regard, because the main antagonist of the whole series is actually the very studio that produced the show in real life. I wonder if they ever realized it.

That about wraps it up. This is the last deep analysis I'll do for a long time, since I'm sure almost all Animaniacs discussion for the next few months will be centered around season 2 of the reboot.

(I also don't have any more ideas.)

More Posts from Doyoulikeslimes and Others

doyoulikeslimes

7 months ago

Jjk chapter 271 reaction comic anyone?

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doyoulikeslimes

7 months ago

I imagine moomin would not only a) learn a new skill just to make Snufkin a new scarf, but also b) break it in to make it more comfortable for him because this boy would never wear something even vaguely new

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doyoulikeslimes

9 months ago

I love the adult saiki version of @oceanwithouthermoon where he's basically princess bubblegum but I just had an idea

remember the alternate universe where kusuo died and kusuke started ww3? well, another similar Au but instead of kusuo, the one who dies is kusuke and kusuo its the one who starts the war and bla bla bla

in the canon episode kusuke seems kinda "off"

he doesn't seems like his usual childish self

he looks more serious and centered, similar to his brother's personality (then he changed to his old personality again when the alternate kusuo arrived)

but the thing is that i feel that if the other die, they would switch personalities

even worse If they were the one who killed eachother (its not confirmated the reason of why kusuo died but a lot of people prefer to believe that kusuke killed him and I agree)

so what if in this au kusuke's death changed kusuo's personality to be more like kusuke's?

if you combine kusuo and kusuke's personality you will get something similar to princess bubblegum but even more fucked up so...

I had been writing a fic that it's basically this but the princess bubblegum thing opened my eyes for more ideas, I need to finish that thing aaaa

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doyoulikeslimes

8 months ago

Tsukasa Is Tsukasa

Recently I discovered a poll asking if people thought the Supernatural Tsukasa and the Red House Tsukasa were different, and the results surprised me! A majority of voters thought they were not the same. Not only that, but I've seen many people in the fandom start believing they are separate people, if they hadn't already believed it before.

I think this stance can very easily be explained by the scene in Chapter 111 where Amane comes to the conclusion that the Tsukasa who went missing isn't the same as the one who came back:

amane: "ever since that day, i could never figure out if the one who returned was my little brother..."

amane: "...or something masquerading as him..."

While people might be divided on the details, the conclusion is basically the same: whatever that is inside of him, it's not Amane's brother.

And I can see why they think this! In fact, it used to be a popular theory back during the release of chapters 78-82 when we didn't know the specifics of what happened. Heck, we still don't know many of the specifics...and many people continued believing the Tsukasas were different anyway!

There's decent evidence to support this, too. When Tsukasa returned, he had sharp teeth and supernatural powers. He knew that Kunishige's wish was that the head priest would die. He's demonstrably different from the innocent little Tsukasa that sacrificed his life for Amane.

If that wasn't enough, even his own mom came to the conclusion that Tsukasa wasn't her son! This is basically the same conclusion Amane comes to in Chapter 111. That's 2/3 of Tsukasa's family members thinking some evil entity is larping around in his skin--not a good look!

In any case, while I could try and convince you guys there are two Tsukasas and the Tsukasas are different, that's not what I'm here to do. If you read my blog you already know I'm 100% on the side that Tsukasa is Tsukasa and always has been, and nothing AidaIro has shown me so far has been convincing enough to change my mind. In this post, I am here to argue that the Red House Tsukasa is the same as the Supernatural Tsukasa and that he merely works in tandem with the ancient god living inside him.

1. Chapter 82

This is the chapter when a lot of people dropped the theory that there are two Tsukasas, including me. (Yes, I used to believe there were two Tsukasas--people change!)

Kou and Nene had determined that the Red House Tsukasa was the real Tsukasa and that the one Amane killed was a fake. They come to this conclusion because this Tsukasa was trapped in the Red House for 50 years and acts a lot nicer and sweeter than the one we know.

The issue is, Kou tells this Tsukasa that Amane is going to kill Tsukasa and die at the age of 13...and unbeknownst to Kou, the seemingly innocent little Red House Tsukasa is EXCITED at the idea! Tsukasa, thankful to Kou and Nene, helps them escape the house but stays behind. This scene is when a lot of cool stuff happens.

First, we learn that Tsukasa wasn't actually trapped in the Red House and he always knew how to get back home, but that he never left because he was worried about what would happen to Amane. However, once Kou told him that Amane wasn't happy after Tsukasa left and that Amane kills not just Tsukasa but also himself, Tsukasa realizes he doesn't know that much about Amane and wants to learn more. The most shocking part of this scene to me was that Tsukasa's excitement at dying was very similar to the lighthearted way the Supernatural Tsukasa brings up his death with Amane.

Second, we see Tsukasa not only has the entity he sacrificed himself to to save Amane stored in his chest, but that he holds a conversation with it.

The entity being shown in his chest is actually a popular argument for the "Tsukasa isn't Tsukasa" theory, but I feel this scene proves otherwise. Tsukasa is not the unwilling host of this entity, as one might expect, but instead almost treats it as a friend. They have a sort of symbiotic relationship going on, and Tsukasa makes the decision to go back wholly of his own, despite them both knowing how to get back the entire time. He even says "let's go back TOGETHER," which supports the idea that they work together and that it isn't simply piloting a Tsukasa meat puppet.

We can argue Tsukasa is the victim to the entity's machinations, that the entity needed Tsukasa to do it willingly or that the entity took full control of Tsukasa after he succumbed to the flames or what not and tricked him, but so far AidaIro has only shown cooperation between these two characters. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Tsukasa gaining supernatural powers after he comes back isn't a sign that he's a different being entirely but that he's just working with one.

2. Mother Doesn't Always Know Best

This one will be a quick section, but considering Mother Yugi is basically the origin of "Tsukasa isn't Tsukasa" I wanted to cover why I think she's wrong.

In Chapter 79 Kunishige recounts how Mother Yugi took Tsukasa to their shrine because she thought her son was possessed by a demon after being spirited away. Kunishige thinks she's crazy at first, and so do the priests, who find nothing wrong with Tsukasa. Put a pin in that btw.

However, Kunishige later learns she was onto something because Tsukasa is not only an incredibly unsettling child but he correctly predicts the death of the head priest of the shrine and tells Kunishige his wish, for the head priest to disappear, would be granted tomorrow. This proves Tsukasa has otherworldly power, since he knows Kunishige's wish without Kunishige telling him, and also might have the ability to grant wishes, something the entity in his chest is shown to be capable of.

Now, I personally think the fact that the priests found nothing wrong with Tsukasa is HUGELY in favor of my theory. I understand how you can argue that the entity somehow avoided detection because it's powerful, or because there was nothing left of the original Tsukasa or something, but I still think the fact the priests detected nothing wrong is extremely weird. What if that's because Tsukasa is still in control?

I think the fact Mother Yugi was convinced Tsukasa isn't her son and wasn't persuaded otherwise is important, too. In fact, I think it might directly correlate with the conclusion Amane makes in Chapter 111. I think Amane is more or less coming to the same conclusion his mother made, something he hadn't wanted to believe at first but eventually, finally, succumbed to. I have to imagine his mother's insistence that Tsukasa wasn't Tsukasa left a big impression on Amane, and it's something that's bothered him for years.

I can't exactly blame them both, either. By the time Tsukasa came back, he'd lost a lot of his innocence. Keep in mind that they think Tsukasa was gone for six months. Any normal 4-year-old kid might have been traumatized by leaving his family for six months, but Tsukasa just acts creepy and possessed. And despite him meeting Nene and Kou 50 years in the future, it's possible it really was only six months for Tsukasa! Time worked differently there. Still, it's not hard to see how the extreme circumstances he was in might have changed him. Not only was he stuck in a haunted death house, he later learns the wish he granted for Amane wasn't Amane's true wish and that Amane kills Tsukasa. This is all pretty life-changing information, and when you tack on the fact that he's buddy-buddy with an ancient man-eating god, it's really not that surprising Tsukasa has changed so dramatically, especially when he's still at the tender age of 4.

3. Behavior

For something that's supposedly replaced Tsukasa entirely, it certainly gets very personal with Amane, doesn't it?

I said before that Red House Tsukasa in Chapter 82 acts similar to Supernatural Tsukasa. How they find delight in death. But I don't think this is the only point of similarity between them, either. In Chapter 81, Red House Tsukasa is under the impression that Amane hates him.

In Chapter 111, after Amane tells Tsukasa he hates him, Tsukasa tells him he already knew that.

Mind you, this line comes seconds before Amane comes to the conclusion that Tsukasa isn't Tsukasa.

Think about it. Tsukasa tells Amane that he knows Amane hates him, echoing a sentiment that the Red House Tsukasa shares. And Amane, after hearing this, comes to the conclusion that this Tsukasa is an impostor.

Isn't that... really sad?! I mean, I'm not going to say that Amane's whole reasoning for Tsukasa being a fake is that he thinks Amane hates him, but...before this scene, Amane was saying he couldn't destroy his yorishiro because he cared about Tsukasa too much. And for Tsukasa to say something he's thought ever since Amane pushed him as a little kid, and for THAT to make Amane say he thinks Tsukasa is fake... it really shows they've never understood each other at all.

Tsukasa's never been shown to get extremely upset about being hated by Amane, either, so you can't say Amane is right just because Tsukasa is laughing in Chapter 111. Tsukasa initially seems shocked when he was pushed, and overall seems a little sad about it in Chapter 81, but he still remarks that Amane hates him with a smile. He's selfless about it. And later, when he learns Amane kills him, this feeling gets more complex. Despite Kou's attempts to convince him otherwise, I think Kou's reveal only made Tsukasa more convinced that Amane hates him, and this is shown in Chapter 111 when he laughs about it. It's just a funny joke to him at this point.

I...genuinely cannot reconcile this behavior with Tsukasa being a fake. I just can't! Why would the entity be this personal with Amane? Why would it share opinions that the supposedly "real" Tsukasa had? If AidaIro really is trying to write a story about a little boy being replaced by a supernatural entity, then they could at least do a better job of making them act different. TBHK makes it clear that supernaturals can experience human emotions just as strongly as actual humans, so it wouldn't surprise me if the god has its own personality and feelings, but for them to just...be the exact same as the human it replaced? I'm not buying it.

There is no difference between the Red House Tsukasa and the Supernatural Tsukasa that can't be explained away by the fact that people change as they grow older. Everything about Tsukasa's character arc as I've presented it is completely logical.

Conclusion

With so little info on the ancient man-eating god, it's kind of impossible to reach a proper conclusion at this point. All we really know about its personality is that it hungers for flesh and will grant any wish in exchange for it. With this in mind, it's incredibly easy to see why people think the god and Supernatural Tsukasa are one and the same, especially when the cast tends to treat them as such. I could just as easily write a post in favor of them being different as I could of them being the same.

And I think this is what AidaIro ultimately wants! I think AidaIro wants us to second guess ourselves. If I know anything about Aidairo, it's that they like to keep up on our toes and shock us with surprising twists. Who really knows what they have hiding up their sleeves?

Still, I feel the theory that the god replaced Tsukasa raises more questions than answers, and I hope I managed to explain my side of things.

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doyoulikeslimes

1 month ago

BSD Wan Chapter 151 Scanlation

*Do NOT repost anything without linking this post

Please make sure to support the original manga legally by visiting the Young Ace Up site and giving it kudos!! 👍👍

(Original JP link found on replies)

Follow, RT, Like official accounts and posts on twitter! 💖💖

@ youngace_up

@ kanaineco

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doyoulikeslimes

7 months ago

New part of IM comic tomorrow at 2:00PM EST…..

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doyoulikeslimes

1 year ago

Just going to rant about something I think I noticed in the new season, I am very very sleepy so this probably makes sense to me

-spoilers for the new season-

During the first season of the reboot Brain was very composed unlike in the third season. Where season one Brain wouldn’t be seen crying, even when he explained his backstory to Pinky, in seasons 2-3 he is shown as much more emotional. But in season 3 this guy seems to be actually loosing it

In their last segment (How the Brain Thieved Christmas) Brain’s eyes were always uneven and look a little crazy

Just Going To Rant About Something I Think I Noticed In The New Season, I Am Very Very Sleepy So This

He was irrationally mad throughout the entire episode and couldn’t seem to focus at all, which is uncharacteristic of him, especially when in season one he would never lose his train of thought wouldn’t happen

Brain definitely was getting more ‘emotional’ during the second season and let it slip a few times but I think what started to get to him was the episode Talladega Mice, with having to talk with Pinky and help him work through with his stress, having to contain some emotion. Then the episode Groundmouse Day happened and I think it really got to Brain and caused him to go a bit mad. After that, Brain has been saying and doing things spontaneously and is showing a completely different side while trying to maintain his ‘stern monotone’ facade. Its surreal to see

And with this, its also obvious how much he has changed in the physical touch area, whereas in season 1 and 2, he would grab Pinky’s hand a lot, pull him really close without having a second thought, season 3 Brain is completely different

He gets flustered over just a hand hold that is no different from every other time from the past 30 years

Then there’s the kiss from Groundmouse Day that has him stunned while (probably in season 1) Brain gets kissed but he shows only aggression

Brain’s affection, or more just interacting with Pinky has decreased in this season and he seems to keep getting flustered over something Pinky has done a million times

So I think with all this information combined, I believe that Brain has been getting more insane if you will, or is in an odd headspace, and the suddenish change could be Brain has been getting unstable and could be causing his slip up in affection, or he knows about his blatant love for Pinky that it in turn is causing his insanity

Who knows which one it is, honestly I think its the latter

But hey thats just a theory

a Film Theory

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doyoulikeslimes

7 months ago

Moomins: The Turning of the Leaves pg. 1 of 31

#moomins #snufmin #moomintroll #snufkin #moominstheturningoftheleaves #moominvalley #comic

#inktober #inktober2023 #dream

Page 2

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doyoulikeslimes

1 month ago

Rin 1 — Mom by Hideki

(Click for full view!)

Raws: Bookwalker Translation: @ce-la Typesetting: Me!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the last page’s epilogue and message from the author. I’m still waiting for a new pen.

I really like the dynamic and punchline of this one. I guess the undervalued mom thing is just universal. The parts where Kunikida calls himself a housekeeper and wonders whether he raised him right always get me. Kyouka holding crab bread is so cute!!! Anyways, thanks to Ce-la translating and for being understanding of me and my… me-ness (a whole lot of them just passing down sage advice to me like that old person in a video game and explaining Japanese nuances). Let’s all also hope I get a mom friend like Kunikida who can take care of me. And enjoy the manga!

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doyoulikeslimes

1 month ago

bsd wan 192: dazai, chuuya, age fourteen – if i had the power