After months, I finally mustered up the courage to write this review. It’s disheartening how long it takes to write when you’re not using your native language…
At first, I wanted to wait for an other installment taking place in France and/or for chapter 42 because of lol JOKES lol, but then I realized I’d never have the patience to wait now that I finally wrote all these paragraphs. Oh well. 36 is in the same multiplication table as 42, and Spain is France’s neighbor (plus there is a French ambassador), so close enough.
I guess it means I’m now contractually obligated to leave a comment in the next France-related chapter and in Chapter 42...
As far as I’m concerned,
Ellana’s Cultural Studies came to life at a moment I scarcely had time for the Board. And now that the months of July and August – during which hopefully I’ll have more free time – are here, I realize how much content this saga now features.
Of course I’m not telling my life story for the pleasure of it, just to explain one thing: I’ll be honest, I haven’t read all the chapters in detail. Some chapters, I read fully. Some, I skimmed through. And some, I skipped. So this will be more of a general comment to leave my impressions on the saga as a whole. I may make a few mistakes due to not know each chapter by heart, and for them I apologize in advance.
I most likely will never have the time (or, more importantly, the energy) to leave one comment on each chapter, but I thought I’d at least leave one with my general thoughts. A saga that long, and updated that regularly, deserves all the encouragements it can get.
To start, I like the idea that this saga is first and foremost a gigantic world tour/road trip. It allows to feature women, professions, and outfits from many countries and during many contexts. Uniforms, casual clothes, fancy clothes, sports clothes... Even some more fictional uniforms (Men in Black outfit). The saga features many locations and situations as well – toilet cubicles, locker rooms, closets, bushes… the classic ‘a uniform stealer finds women mugged by her rival and knocks them out again’ which was displayed several times in this very chapter. Such diversity is always a plus - and the biggest asset of the saga.
Of course, the story becomes more complex over time. New characters are introduced… In that regards, L and M becoming main characters truly changed the dynamic of the story compared to the very first ‘Ellana-solo’ chapters. And for the better, I think. What started as a “road trip” became a chase with two sides trying to one-up each other, and a lot of unlucky women caught in the crossfire and relieved of their clothes. This is, I think, the best thing that could happen to the story. It allows for more action, more suspense, and more varied situations, since it gives stakes to Ellana constantly being on the run, and can even lead to episodes in which she's brought to the MIB custody and has to break out. Now, the question is how long this new formula can last… I also appreciate the character development – Ellana getting used to some Earthly customs and meeting friendly people, L and M questioning their actions and starting to see Ellana as some sort of ‘friendly rival’ / kindred spirit... A long-runner needs to change over time, while also keeping enough elements of its classic formula. As of now, this saga does exactly that. Hopefully, it'll keep doing it.
The sci-fi aspects give an edge that sets this saga apart from others. This Board has already seen ventures in the genres of spy flicks, historical novels, medieval fantasy, and superhero stories, so sci-fi feels like an other logical step. Ellana’s powers (that kiss of knowledge!

) or the Men in Black’s gadgets allow for scenarios that differ from the classic scenes – though L and M also allow for more classic takedowns. Good balance I think.
Ellana is a serviceable main character. I don’t have strong feelings about her, but her shoulders are strong enough to carry the plot. Her drive to acquire knowledge and her “scientific” curiosity are the drive of the plot, and a good way to have the story move forward (and move all across the world). Her (literal) “alien” point of view about Earth can be amusing sometimes, but sometimes her attitude also annoy me a bit. I prefer the dynamic between L and M, though they also have moments I dislike – simon pointed out their brutality sometimes. But that’s personal opinion. I guess I’m affected by the news. Reading about authority figures (which the MIB are in a way) using violence against the citizens they’re supposed to protect and get away scot-free… Let’s just say it makes me uncomfortable. But from a narrative standpoint, their attitude makes sense. The two sides are supposed to be morally grey anyway.
The story in general combines a relatively light-hearted atmosphere (compared to other of your works) with a morally grey setting (two morally grey sides), which combines well. Not my favorite kind of atmosphere, but one I can enjoy.
I don’t know if it is deliberate, but (at least in the early chapters I read in details) there seems to be two different “genres” when it comes to the uniform stealings. I elaborate: L’s and M’s scenes usually feature bondage and underwear-clad victims (with some exceptions – that’s my luck, this very chapter contains one – poor Maximé

That's because she was French, I'm sure of it!

The Hundred Years War will never end!

). On the contrary, Ellana’s scenes often feature no bondage and full-frontal nudity. It gives two different atmospheres to the uniform stealings – like some sort of “two in one” package. In that regards, I welcome the addition of L and M. Though the latest chapters seemingly muddle things a bit – Ellana seems to have added bondage to her tactics. Earth USB-customs are rubbing off on her...
Finally, I’d have one thing to say not exactly about the story itself, but its updates. And I know it’s a detail, but frankly it’s been something that's been bugging me and that I’ve been wanting to say for a long while now. I’ll be honest and blunt, I’m not a fan of the numerous posts you add to give links. Not a fan AT ALL. Or, more accurately, I’m not fond of the fact they’re posted individually – sometimes minutes apart from each other, sometimes days apart from each other. It makes keeping up to date with the latest stories a bit of a chore. Personally, I don’t enjoy seeing a story has been updated on the Board’s home page, only to find there’s no chapter or comment, just a link to one picture. And, to speak frankly, sometimes the picture is interesting – and sometimes they’re not. One (extreme) instance, but that left an impact on me, I didn’t necessarily need a picture leading to a coke banana in a USB story...
Plus, it has the side effect of invisibilizing the updates of all the other stories – since it usually supersedes any other story on the Board’s home page almost immediately after it was uploaded/updated (sometimes literally a few minutes after it was uploaded/updated)... before anyone has a chance to see an other story has been uploaded on the home page.
(And it breaks my dreams about MIB’s logo, but that’s just my stupid mind attempting a joke.

)
Well, I surely took a lot more time than anticipated on the story's form... That’s just my personal thought, but that was something that’s been bugging me for quite some time now. I’d suggest posting all these links in one go with one post. Not even necessarily immediately afterwards - it could be a good way to return to the story a couple of days later. But not one by one at an irregular pace!
To conclude, I have to talk about Maximé. Because this is the first time I’ve ever heard about this female first name. I can’t accept the fact my countrymen could be devious enough to choose such a name...
To conclude for real, my big gripe with the story’s form (e. g. the too numerous updates) notwithstanding, I’m very glad to see the story section is very much active thanks to this long-runner. Good luck for your next chapters! Let's hope it'll reach at least chapter 42. Because frankly, the joke about the meaning of the universe is within reach...