Bring It On (2000) Background Cheerleaders (Part 3)

I Love Christie Monteiro

The first time I was ever introduced to Christie was when I was 10 years old. My brother had Tekken Revolution on his Playsation 3, and I used to play the hell out of it after school. Revolution was like a demo version of ttt2, so there weren't a lot of available characters. I was surprised to find out she was my opponent, but only because I hadn't seen her before. It was like she was some kind of hidden character.

I noticed 3 things about her:

She's black or biracial.

She's dressed colourfully.

Her fighting style.

I had never heard of capoeira before playing Tekken, so learning about a fighting style that had African roots that resembled dancing entranced me. I was super into dancing (though not professional), and I grew up on martial arts films. I did some research here and there, and eventually, I grew an attachment to capoeira. I had never actually learned it professionally, but I do occasionally like to practice whatever I learned on the internet.

She's a black character, which means a lot to me (even though it's not about me). I had been using Xiaoyu as a self insert, and I still do. I was never able to do the same with Christie, and I think that's what makes her interesting. She was her own person, and someone I couldn't find pieces of myself in. Christie is bright, determined and mature. I think that was the difference. Her maturity. (I'm currently 20 years old, but I still have a long way.)

Her outfits were always colourful and sultry. It wasn't like Anna Williams, where it's dangerous, but more of a "product of environment" kind of way. Christie's outfits resemble what a lot of people wear in Brazil (according to the little research I've made), and have a party goer look to them. Some of her old concept art even gave me 'Rihanna' vibes. Brazil is an overall artisitc, warm and colourful country, so the developers did a very great job pouring all of that into Christie.

I had gotten super obsessed with Tekken, and did some deep dives, which led me to the 2009 film. I was pretty surprised that Christie was nothing like anything in the games, especially since she had a romantic relationship with Jin. On the other hand, her outfit was no longer colourful. Capoeira trousers are typically white, so movie Christie seemed to have a traditional approach when it came to her costuming. It's still, however, stylised to suit her playful and spunky personality (even though the film made her a completely different person. She was also played by a white actress. *Shaking my head*.). It could hint to her inexperience, and how she's not looking for revenge or greedier things, like everyone else, but is there for something as simple as finding Eddy. Or maybe even wanting to raise money for her grandpa's illness.

Back to her out of the blue and out of character romance with Jin. It hadn't occurred to me until currently on other potential relationships she could have outside Eddy. I understand that Christie doesn't have to have those things, especially since Eddy has an actual story. Thing is, why add her to the game if you're going to ultimately do nothing with her in the end?

Movie Christie is nothing like the game Christie, but at least the film was doing something with her.

You know what, let Christie have friends and romantic interests outside of Eddy. Tekken x Street Fighter doesn't count because that was heavily Capcom based.

I got some scenarios. Christie takes over the orphanage that Eddy runs, and enters the tournament to get some cash. She could cross paths with King, who visits his own share orphanages. Common ground. They both have good hearts.

Maybe even a friendship with Miguel. Christie kind of resembles Miguel's sister. They could be in a match, but he can't bring himself to lay a hand on her because of their resemblance.

EDIT: How could I forget, Bruce Irvin. She had one interaction with him in Tekken 5, and that's it? Romantic interest?

But yeah, that's all the info dumping I have for you guys.

Illumi and Gon

I really wish there was more Gon vs Illumi content. This scene is so underrated. And while I get that Illumi and Gon have their assigned rivals/obstacles (Killu and Hiso), I don't think Gon and Illumi are explored enough by the fandom. There is always the 90s musical where Illumi is more of a threat and less nonchalant, thus is actively trying to get Gon out of the way. There's also that short fight they had in the 90s anime as well. In the 2011 version, Illumi is pretty blase about the friendship thing, probably confident that Gon will either die during the Kukuru mountain mission, or won't act unless given the signal to by his parents.

This arm breaking scene??? There is so much potential, and I am still surprised everyone just moved past it. It also showcases just how strong Gon is even without the use of nen against someone who is older, more experienced and arguably stronger. Maybe Gon proved how worthy he was by that alone to some extent. Break a Zoldyck's arm and live? That has to be impressive. Sure, Illumi didn't touch Gon because of Hisoka, but he also didn't seem angry at Gon's disrespect. He was still operating logically.

I wonder WHAT happened at SpilGames for them to do THAT to all of their websites... They changed everything that made them recognizable. The girls from GGG? BOOM! 💥💣💣🧨🤯💥

Boring.

The designs of all of their websites? BOOM!!!!!!!1!11!!!!!!!!!!!1

Bland, too minimalistic and BORING.

I hate how the internet looks nowadays. Yes, minimalism is good. I love minimalism! It can always save the look of anything and make it easier to navigate. But not where the whole purpose of the website is for it to spark joy and look like a ton of fun waiting for you! I genuinely do not know what made them decide to get rid of all the personality their sites had.

The new GGG mascots are from shopaholic, I'm pretty sure about that, but how do you look at them and think: "Yeah! Those are way better than the mascots we have now! Let's change them! Representation will go woooooo!!!!"? They used to represent the different styles of girls so they feel accepted and know that there's a safe space with a variety of games where you can be whatever you want to be. SpilGames removed all the originality their websites had.

I'm not even going to talk about the games kids play now. If a long time ago there were makeup, kissing, pets, cooking, dress up, decorating house games - now it all is an amalgam of those grossly and poorly made creatures (I wish Frozen never came out).

So, in conclusion, I HATE THE NEW WEB DESIGNS AND THE BLANDNESS OF IT ALL

To Snaters

"Snape was a literal Nazi!"

These two are the same people?

Well, are they? Would Snape kill someone just for existing? The same way James Potter bullied him for existing?

Pretty sure he would have a motive, and his motive would make sense. If you want Nazi, check out this character Stormfront, this is really someone to vent your anger on.

Hisoka: The Villain Who Surpasses Expectations

I recall going on a tangent about Hisoka's magical abilities before Togashi revealed nen to the audience, and I went on a bit of a rant about how he had me in a choke hold back when I was ten years old, and I'd like to continue that rant.

Hisoka is that villain who can never be outdone when it comes to creativity.

The first thing that got me was his appearance. I remember seeing him in the opening, where he wears an outfit that he's never seen wearing in any of the episodes (not important, but eh). I remember thinking that he looked like a Jester, mainly because of Harley Quinn. Hisoka never really struck me as a clown, and I remember getting triggered every time a fanfic referred to him as a clown.

I was used to villains who wanted to take over the world for whatever reason, or sympathetic ones who had a rough background or were doing evil things for someone they loved. Or villains who were evil because their job required it, like assassins and hit men. And then there were villains like Joker, who are evil just because. Hisoka was none of that. We are not given any motive for why he's the way he is until much later. When I was ten the pedo stuff flew over my head, and I was still pretty new to sex education. I thought to myself "Pretty weird that fighting is like sex for you, but whatever tickles your fancy." And it's not even in an "Ah, finally a worthy opponent" kind of way.

I remember being so entranced by him because he was so unusual. As a ten year old I interpreted things differently. In the clearing (during the 1st exam) I don't think he would've attacked anyone, but he was provoked into doing so. Kurapika and Leorio run off, so he calms down for a moment, but saw that Leorio wanted the smoke, so he delivered. When he was strangling Gon and stopped, I legit believed he thought to himself "Woah, I was about to kill a kid." I believed he had limits. (Later on with the Alluka thing I see that's not the case)

Hisoka is pure evil, but he isn't some Michael Myers. He has personality and doesn't kill everyone he comes across. When he warned Illumi I thought he was being protective of Gon, but expressed it the only way he was capable of. I was hoping for a future friendship between him and Gon, or at least Hisoka being a somewhat mentor figure of some kind.

There's also Heaven's Arena. He told Gon and Killua to go back downstairs. Instead of seeing it like "Get stronger first so that I can have more fun." I saw it as "It's dangerous for you here, don't come back until you're ready."

I remember seeing the spider tattoo in the bathroom scene, and I was surprised for a moment. Even with the him vs Chrollo situation, if you take that out of the equation, what's in it for him to be a part of the Phantom Troupe? I remember thinking "He's in a gang?" Hisoka didn't fit with the troupe, and I was curious as to how he met them, and why they accepted him. Hisoka didn't/doesn't seem to be the thief type. Once more, he didn't get along with most of the troupe, and they even seemed to avoid him despite being quite close knit. I figured that maybe Hisoka had a similar upbringing to them, which could be why they accepted him, but then there's Kalluto. Kalluto, whose father fought the troupe, and grew up in a beautiful (yet abusive) environment. Kalluto seems well off in comparison, and Illumi comes off as put together despite what he went through. So with the Phantom Troupe it's not about sympathy or trauma bonding. And no, I don't think Kikyo coming from Meteor city has anything to do with it. The only spider Hisoka arguably gets along with is Machi, but she merely tolerates him.

Hisoka worked better in a group setting with Gon and Killua, even though he is an open enemy to them. They were willingly welcome towards him, with Gon even offering him to accompany them. Even though Hisoka gave him the creeps by staring at their arse, Gon still seems to enjoy Hisoka's company (Somewhat???).

There's also that Dodge Ball scene.

Hisoka did that just because that wasn't how Gon wanted to win. He didn't need to do that, but he did. That's pretty damn interesting, and dare I say it, heroic and honourable. There is the potential that Hisoka started getting a soft spot for Gon.

Speaking of the Dodge Ball game, it was interesting seeing Hisoka suffer for once. It felt very out of character, especially since he always comes out on top. But this time the opponent was incredibly stronger, and less familiar. But of course, Hisoka is quick thinking, with one last trick up his sleeve.

When Illumi informs Hisoka about the Chimera ants fiasco and Gon being on his deathbed, Hisoka genuinely appears shocked and a bit fearful. The kind where you hear about something bad happening to a close friend. "What? (Insert name here) has (insert life threatening disease)?". He even put his life on the line to alert Killua of him and Illumi's whereabouts.

Hisoka is a villain that isn't just entertaining, he goes against the expectations of what a villain is presented to be, especially against shonen expectations. He doesn't have a tragic backstory, nor does he need one. While he isn't the main villain, he is very impact-ful to the story, and not just for the main character. Sometimes he can be a hero, despite having his own self-serving agenda behind it.

MK1 critique: Titan Shang Tsung

When it comes to the MK storymode I feel like I'm the only one who personally doesn't have a problem with it. Such as, how it played out and ended.

I only have one complaint, and that is Titan Shang Tsung. It's not the fact that he's in the story because I love Shang Tsung, but it actually has to do with his physical appearance. I'm not talking about his face model. Our Shang (Liu Kang's timeline) is clearly quite young, like mid 20s, and we pick up on his immaturity quickly. Titan Shang Tsung in the last game looked like he was in his early 40s, probably because that's around the age Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was when he played Shang Tsung in the 90s.

Tagawa was so great in his role that he reprised it for the game, and MK1 even imitated his vibes. Alan Lee does a great job as young Shang, when I first watched the intros and storymode I did a double take, but could tell there was something different.

What I'm getting at is, Titan Shang Tsung should've appeared a little different. At first I thought Titan Shang should have a pointier nose and maybe longer hair or something, but that would've taken away the point that Our Shang immediately saw himself. So instead, I think Titan Shang should've appeared older, maybe taller. Old enough to pass as Our Shang's father, but look similar enough that we can tell it's Titan Shang.

Alan Lee is great at Shang Tsung, but I think they could've at least done some kind of voice modulating thing that makes him sound more refined and mature, since Tagawa and Alan have a different pitch to their voices. I understand that each game has a different take on the characters when it comes to vibes and characterisation, but they felt too similar. Titan Shang felt like more of an evil twin brother rather than an older and much powerful version of self.

Our Shang feels like he was made for Gen Z, like come on he's a scam artist that's funny as hell, and bro is trying to do NFTs, he's so memeable. I'm pretty sure we all bumped into him in high school/secondary school at some point. MK11 Shang feels like that one person you're not sure whether or not you should trust, like a scary business man. That is the point of his aura, but you get what I mean. Our Shang seems like he is easy to irritate, MK11 Shang is so reserved and collected, when he does show irritation he appears like a King about to execute someone who just committed treason. When Our Shang kills someone it's like watching Amber as Ghostface, when she wasn't being loud and acting like the joker.

All I'm saying is, there should've been a completely different air Titan Shang carried, like Titan Kitana and our Kitana.

Edit: Why does Titan Shang have claws too? He wouldn't use them, he's already got his golden acrylic thingies. Our Shang stabbed Reiko like he walked out of a slasher flick, Titan Shang wouldn't do that.