I don't get why people like the Arcadion's story (Spoilers)

[ZJyn]

... And i'm legitimately curious as to why people *do* like it. Convince me. Share with me the reasons that it resonates with you.

Because despite the fights being amazing, and the music being astonishingly good (Duh, it's Soken), the plot suffers from everything wrong with the original Dawntrail story, and even falls into pitfalls of its own that continue to pull me out of moments it clearly wants to have land or feel meaningful.

* A bunch of people, Brute Bomber included, refuse to believe they have a disease that is killing them when they are obviously presented with debilitating symptoms. Howling Blade, when presented with the fact that this thing is killing his friends and lover, decides that he wants to push forward anyway? Explaining that the President gave him purpose in life doesn't handwave away all the other relationships the story has been trying to build. It only makes his motives feel cheap.
* Characters have no real sense of self preservation, and they act for shallow reasons. Hell, they will flip on a dime when the story suits it too. Howling Blade will go from "I don't have any purpose so i'll die in the arena" to "I don't care if you lose, i'll continue fighting anyway" to "suddenly, I care about my reputation" to, after you beat him, smiling and saying "I guess i'll retire" like it never meant anything to him.
* Our big bad, the President, supposedly doesn't care that you're wanting to cure Psychonecrosis, but he tries to undermine you at every step from doing so? He has two opposing motivations at once, and they don't go together. Yes, I get that he's trying to preserve his fighters, but curing the condition would allow him to have his cake and eat it too.
* The solution to the problem is literally pulled out of thin air by a child at the most opportune moment. Then, conveniently, she's spirited away before she can do anything about it.

It all just seems.. sloppy. Juvenile. Honestly, you can have a tournament arc with a threadbare plot, but (and the reason it reminds me of Dawntrail's 7.0 plot), the writers clearly have larger aspirations behind it, and none of them really are landing with me.

So please. Explain it to me. Explain why this arc is great. Explain why it's the light that Dawntrail needed, because i'm not seeing it. I'm legitimately curious. I know that these forums are often full of negativity and people wanting to bash on things, but I only present my observations to try to explain my own point of view.

Now I turn it over to others. Is it because of the spectacle? Is it a "turn your brain off and have fun" storyline that you just don't care if things make sense so long as it's got spectacle, good music, and cool fighters? Or are there other reasons?

Enlighten me.

[Catwho]

To me, the story makes a lot more sense when you remember that most of them are still teens. Teens are sort of known for acting rashly.

Hell, Retsarra gave me some of the same vibes as Zenos - he only ever felt like he was really alive in battle.

Anyway, to your original question: Most of the people who like it seem to be wrestling fans. If you are into wrestling, the kayfabe is part of the magic of it. The participants know it's fake. The audience knows its fake. But everyone agrees to pretend otherwise. That seems to be the core moral issue the story is discussing, and it's a discussion that usually doesn't happen within the broadcast bits of wrestling fandom itself, outside of documentaries.

[Jeeqbit]

Brute Bomber included, refuse to believe they have a disease that is killing them when they are obviously presented with debilitating symptoms.

He suffered from anxiety and lack of self-esteem in the past. Becoming the Brute Bomber installed a confidence in him. Without it, he loses everything and becomes the anxious person he once was. He cannot, will not, go back to that. I think that is why he was really in denial.

Howling Blade, when presented with the fact that this thing is killing his friends and lover, decides that he wants to push forward anyway? Explaining that the President gave him purpose in life doesn't handwave away all the other relationships the story has been trying to build.

I could compare this to people who continue being friends with people who get "cancelled". That sort of loyalty is a real thing.

The dilemma of doing something that is your purpose even though it is harmful, is also a real thing - for example, as this is based on wrestling, usually wrestlers injure themselves in numerous ways (how about concussions and steroids too?), but they continue doing it knowing they will never feel good ever again and potentially have shortened their life. Wrestlers put on a show, but they get injured and hurt doing it over time.

Our big bad, the President, supposedly doesn't care that you're wanting to cure Psychonecrosis

I noticed that too. It was a huge shock that the President didn't care that we wanted to release all the souls or all the other things. In fact, his goals align perfectly with ours, to the point that kidnapping people has no actual purpose.

You would think the President would want to run future tournaments after this one. But no. He only cares about finishing this one, like the WoL does. So our goals align and there's not really an overarching villain after all.

[Thaciscokidd]

Anyway, to your original question: Most of the people who like it seem to be wrestling fans. If you are into wrestling, the kayfabe is part of the magic of it. The participants know it's fake. The audience knows its fake. But everyone agrees to pretend otherwise.

This but also it feels like I'm playing a Kinnikuman(Ultimate Muscle) RPG and I love it. I was sold on this when you get a peek behind the curtain and see the real Brute Bomber or the little family spat in East Yyasulani. You got a glimpse of it in the first part with the intro of the disease and in this patch you got to see and experience the outcome of the disease. Its like Kayfabe in reverse where the outcome is fake and what the audience think is fake and they are blissfully unaware but what the wrestlers are going through in real and dangerous. For a story that has a short time to tell what they are going to tell they do a good job in conveying emotions.

You would think the President would want to run future tournaments after this one. But no. He only cares about finishing this one, like the WoL does. So our goals align and there's not really an overarching villain after all.

I think this a ploy by the president to legitimise what he is doing. There is no if and or buts about it but the president tried to silence us in AM7 and as soon as the result didn't go his way he cut the feed. I think the president does want to continue these tournaments and he's going to use the WoL and there eventual demise as advertisement for others to come in and fight in the Arcadion. I wouldn't be surprise that in AM10 or M11 we get ordered to take a dive to save the hostages.

[MediocreIndigo]

I noticed that too. It was a huge shock that the President didn't care that we wanted to release all the souls or all the other things. In fact, his goals align perfectly with ours, to the point that kidnapping people has no actual purpose.

You would think the President would want to run future tournaments after this one. But no. He only cares about finishing this one, like the WoL does. So our goals align and there's not really an overarching villain after all.

I'm guessing he may have a motive we don't know about yet. Maybe he's holding Eutrope and Neyuni hostage because he's afraid we might expose that he's been kidnapping terminally ill fighters and leaving them to die.

[MediocreIndigo]

I've been enjoying the questline overall, but I think Retsarra was unintentionally written as really unsympathetic. He allows his best friend to die because he doesn't want to quit a job that's literally killing him, all because he thinks other jobs are too boring. I feel like that fact got moved on from too quickly.

[DreadCrow]

You're looking at it like it's a serious storyline. That's your problem. It's supposed to be a professional wrestling storyline and being written as one. And that's why I love it so damn much.

Professional wrestling, as a medium, isn't about trying to telling stories with deep theme. It's about having larger-than-life people engage in absurd melodrama while beating the crap out of each other and that's exactly what the story is trying to do. People do stupid things for the sole purpose that it makes for drama. I swear that sometimes, this fanbase doesn't seem to realize there's forms of entertainment outside of Final Fantasy and anime.

I've been enjoying the questline overall, but I think Retsarra was unintentionally written as really unsympathetic. He allows his best friend to die because he doesn't want to quit a job that's literally killing him, all because he thinks other jobs are too boring. I feel like that fact got moved on from too quickly.

I feel this is sort of metacommentary on the fact that the "babyface" (i.e.: good guy in professional wrestling) isn't always a good person in real life. Like, when he was in WWE, Hulk Hogan was presented as someone who represented truth, justice, and the American way. Behind the scenes, he was a racist prick who likely got another wrestler who was trying to unionize fired for snitching to Vince McMahan.

[Iscah]

It was a huge shock that the President didn't care that we wanted to release all the souls or all the other things. In fact, his goals align perfectly with ours, to the point that kidnapping people has no actual purpose.

You would think the President would want to run future tournaments after this one. But no. He only cares about finishing this one, like the WoL does. So our goals align and there's not really an overarching villain after all.

As others have said, I think you're oversimplifying this.

We thought we were secretly going under the President's nose to do something he wouldn't want us to do (i.e. release all the feral souls he requires for his show to function).

Instead, suddenly, he has flipped the table entirely on us. Not only is he aware of what we're doing, he's just kidnapped two people to force us to continue doing what we were doing.

That's not a sign that our goals align; it's a sign that what we thought was our goal is something that an unpredictable enemy is okay with, and we don't know why he is okay with it or whether it's still something we should want to be pursuing, at least without further knowledge of the situation.

[Gwenkatsu]

It's supposed to be a professional wrestling storyline and being written as one... It's about having larger-than-life people engage in absurd melodrama while beating the crap out of each other and that's exactly what the story is trying to do.

Thanks for the summary. I had ignored the Arcadion story line so far (as I really dislike this misplaced mega city with its neon ads and starbucks). And while a wrestling story with absurd melodrama sounds like it befits said city, I don't think I would enjoy any of it.

[Kennar]

I thought the story started out fine (certainly better than DT as a whole), but a little predictable. This second chapter didn't grab me, though. For a character-driven drama, the characters are all pretty weak and don't have much depth, and it's still predictable. I know it's hard to convey a rich, complex storyline within the confines of sidequests, but I think it could have been better. Some of the music choices didn't help.

You're looking at it like it's a serious storyline. That's your problem. It's supposed to be a professional wrestling storyline and being written as one.

No, the writers made it a serious story, with real life-and-death stakes. I've said it before, but they missed a golden opportunity to really lean into the professional wrestling aspects. Ditch all the psychonecrosis stuff, and focus instead on the WoL's rise to stardom. The drama happens with the friends and enemies made behind the scenes. I wanted my character to be introduced as a heel ("I am The Foriegner! I do things differently than you!" and the crowd jeers wildly). I want to do promos with Mean Gene. I want a fun, simple, stand-alone story that doesn't have wider implications for the rest of the world.