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With Kannon being implemented the way she was does it increase the chance of other major Buddhas being servants like Jizo, Maitreya and etc?

The new explanations don't really change much. They're arguably not even new since we had Xuanzang's case before.

We're told now that the Buddhas can only manifest as Servants if they want to and as long as they want to. Shakyamuni does because he thinks Twice is an extreme case that demands special attention. Xuanzang does because she has a major disagreement with Goetia specifically (this is reflected in how she does absolutely nothing in part 2). Alterego Kiara's profile always said that she's only became a Servant because the defeated Beast Kiara she wanted to. Kama also became an Assassin Servant as part of a negotiation with Kiara. That's a surprising amount of examples that check out.

But then we get to how Shinto and Hindu gods are also manifestations of the Buddhas and those have tons of human (or celestial fox) avatars available as Servants. In theory, creating a Buddha Servant should demand the creative work of coming up with a good reason why they're consenting to their summon, but this large amount of precedent creates a big section of Buddhas who don't seem to mind. "Oh, mankind wants to use me as a Heroic Spirit? Yeah, go ahead, no conditions attached."

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Wait, White Day has voiced CEs. Far more likely reason for Nakamura to be around at the studio.

Could Nakamura voicing Nikitich's horse be a bit of foreshadowing? Since he voiced Proto-Gil in the OVA.

I guess David could get animation update for OC4?

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Could Nakamura voicing Nikitich's horse be a bit of foreshadowing? Since he voiced Proto-Gil in the OVA.

I guess David could get animation update for OC4?

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What do you think papa Kuonji is like? He seems to have type moon protag energy mainly "avarage guy x supernatural girl" that gone horribly wrong.

Take Mikiya, remove some luck points, add some "having hobbies" points

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Do we know if Touko’s dual personalities are just masks she created or a genuine medical condition?

The former.

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Wait, actually, Tenochtitlan. Genuinely introspective in a way she hasn't been since Mictlan. Her best moment ever is here and for some reason it's optional dialogue in a Valentines scene despite it being something that needed to have happened in Archetype Inception.

Sorry, i meant the new Valentine servant scenes. Any highlights?

Alice and Abby are these years L~O~R~E scenes. I don't think there were any outstandingly funny scenes but the best in this department was probably Soujuurou. Dantwos was experimental enough to also deserve mention.

Oh, also Nikitich's scene revealed her horse is voiced by Nakamura Yuichi. He didn't voice any other character this year, so they actually called a pretty expensive voice actor to the studio specifically for this.

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Sorry, i meant the new Valentine servant scenes. Any highlights?

Alice and Abby are these years L~O~R~E scenes. I don't think there were any outstandingly funny scenes but the best in this department was probably Soujuurou. Dantwos was experimental enough to also deserve mention.

Oh, also Nikitich's scene revealed her horse is voiced by Nakamura Yuichi. He didn't voice any other character this year, so they actually called a pretty expensive voice actor to the studio specifically for this.

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How did you get to know Danganronpa as a series?

When DR1's anime adaptation was coming out, a friend was like "yo, visual novel adaptation, investigative stuff, let's all watch it".

He didn't watch it.

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Sorry that was me. Doc is a good friend and I thought everyone loved him hearing talk. Doyle himself seemed really close to the guy.

Who invited Watson to my Doylism party

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If you’ve finished playing/watching The Hundred Line’s demo (if you’re at all interested in it), I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, or the localisation.

The Hundred Line's demo is just the first 7 days of the game and it can be used a save file so you don't have to play the first week twice, so I'll wait for the Switch on this one.

Also, as usual, I won't play it in English the first time around, so translation commentary will have to wait a while.

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I'm a bit confused about Alice's valentine where she said bad things will happened to a witch who fall in love just like her mother but isn't Meinster only witches that is immune to the rule?

All Alice said is that Mama Kuonji "ceased being a witch". Meanwhile, Mama Gut turned into a huge frog. I don't think it's unreasonable for Mama Gut to say Mama Kuonji loved a man and got away with it, if that's really all that happened.

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Is it true the shape of Komachi's letter to Takamura imply it's a love letter?

Oh, huh. That sure is a knotted letter. At couple times throughout the event, Osakabehime acts suspicious of incest, but it's played as a joke with no one else paying her delusions any mind, but this does make it look like she was onto something. I wonder if this is some unnoticed creative disagreement between Haganeya and Routo?

For the record, knotted letters are also used for formalities, both professional and religious. In Samurai Remnant, when Yoshinaka gives his final report to Iori as a knotted letter in a branch, I don't think that was meant to be a Yoshinaka/Iori ship tease. But when Kannon went out of her way to make herself a Servant just to give Takamura a Valentine's gift, I don't think that counts as a formality anymore.

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What do you think of the 2025 valentines?

Events in general are just a focused character study of the new guy, but in this one, it felt more true than ever. Your reward was for every collected piece was getting to know Komachi more, and the stakes were losing Komachi.

It all rides on Komachi's characterization, which I'm personally a fan of. She strikes a great balance between sweet and unsettling, and there's a really steady sense of progression in how you discover her more unexpected sides.

The side cast was pretty solidly utilized, especially Kiichi. This might be her best showing. I can't believe it took so long for her to be allowed to have complex opinions and to actually feel like a tengu character.

It's not an event I can widely "recommend" because it heavily expects the reader to be previously invested in knowing Komachi. It's one of those niche stories that sacrifices broader appeal without a second thought to fulfill its niche as effectively as it can. And it sure does that.

Except for the climax. I feel like Haganeya came up with the epilogue first and didn't know what to do for the climactic fifth and that's how we got that weird joke ending to an otherwise serious character study.

Neither Iyo nor Kukulcan are Buddhas. You must have gotten the wrong character.

Well, this is certainly not how I expected she'd arrive.

Well, as I mentioned before, Komachi is good. Simple, heartfelt, and multifaceted. But Kannon is definitely her weakest side. She's severely lacking in personality both in the story and in her voice lines.

As I also mentioned before, her resolution also feels poorly thought out. Kannon takes her full form and immediately starts fading into Nirvana, which is A) entirely willful, and B) not a harmful to literally anyone. It feels uncharacteristically selfish of Fujimaru to deny someone from simply walking away when they don't want to be around. Chaldea is not that desperate for soldiers that this feels necessary. It's an unsympathetic plea with an unserious conclusion.

(Besides, Kannon chose to manifest as a Takamura-bundled Komachi here because she wanted to give Takamura a Valentine's gift, so if Komachi Kannon terminated herself without fulfilling the mission, Kannon's main soul would probably just summon her again.)

The scene was nice as a way to show how Buddha Servants work, but Kannon's moment really benefitted Shakyamuni's and Sanzang's characterization a lot more than Kannon's own. Plus, the pharaohs already created more interesting drama with a similar enough idea.

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scary is cancelled we have hope tomorrow.

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Is female Musashi ever referred to as a Sword Saint? If so, when?

If I recall correctly, Anastasia and Olympus. The point I remember for sure is that it only started after Shimousa. More poignantly, after she died in her duel against Kojirou.

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Goodbye is Not an Easy Word to Say (Sagrada Reset 4) - Prologue

[INDEX]

"I love messages", said Souma Sumire.

Her voice was slightly hoarse.

On August 31st, she sat next to Asai Kei on a bus stop.

"I want to pass on a lot of happy words, or maybe even trivial words, from one person to another.", she continued her murmurs behind the sound of rainfall.

Kei couldn't really understand what Souma was getting at. 

But it was pleasant to be in the small world formed by the natural shapes of her relaxed fingers and angle her neck to look at him. Kei asked a question, restraining his words not to destroy it.

"And what if the message you have to pass is sad?"

Souma grinned. 

Her smile was like a bubble, rising to the water's surface only to burst. Natural, inevitable, and with hints of sorrow.

"I can figure out some clever way to say it. If something needs to be said, I'll say it the right way, using the right words and the right tricks."

Her smile made her look prettier than she had ever been, so Kei averted his gaze. He watched the droplets fallen from the bus stop roof bouncing on the puddles.

"You'd still be making the person sad with the message."

He hated making people sad.

"True. But I believe that's still a lot better than not passing the message. If those words would bring nothing but sadness, no one would have wanted them transmitted."

(What is something that needs to be said? What kind of message still needs to be passed even if it will make someone sad? You could have buried that message forever. Dig a hole a so deep no one would ever find it.)

But what Souma said was: 

"Don't be scared. I know you can figure it out."

The rain kept falling.

Shortly thereafter, she died.

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A Day in Haruki’s Life - Friend-making (Sagrada Reset 4)

[INDEX]

She liked cats more so than she disliked them.

The answer was infinitely close to "neither like nor dislike", but if pressed to answer, she'd tend toward "like" in the slightest way. She knew she would be sad if cats went extinct. That said, she wouldn't even consider the idea of willingly facing hardship for a cat's sake.

It's been five minutes since reached for the cat snuggling at her feet for no reason. The cat swiftly climbed her arm and reached her shoulder. It later tried to go around her neck and slipped. When she felt the cat's claws through her thin blouse, Haruki reflexively bent forward. She thought the cat wouldn't fall to the ground if her back was horizontal.

Her trick worked, the cat lay flat on her back, and since then, neither of them moved. Being on an unstable position with a cat on her back for a long period of time was quite stressful.

Haruki had no way to know if the cat liked her back or if it was just as unable to move was she was. She tried asking it to get down, but it didn't even meow in response.

Her abdominal muscles were in pain, probably from staying too long in an uncomfortable position. She had trouble breathing. While she tried to psych herself up to stand up in one go, she heard a voice.

"What are you doing?"

Haruki softly turned her head to the voice, trying not to break her pose.

A girl sat alone on the very few stone steps of a tiny shrine on the mountain. A very pretty girl with pale skin and long dark hair. She wore her high school uniform in the middle of summer vacations for inexplicable reasons. Her name was Nonoo Seika.

"I'm here to see you.", Haruki answered. It was difficult to project her voice due to her pose.

Nonoo looked at the cat on Haruki's back.

"And how did you get like this?"

"A lot happened while you were asleep."

When Haruki visited the mountain shrine, Nonoo Seika was sleeping. With a cat (not the same cat as the one on Haruki's back, a smaller cat) on her lap. It slept furrowing its brow, unable to sleep well under this heat. 

She tried to put her hand on a cat to pass time until Nonoo woke up, and got in her current position.

"Got it. That's rough."

Nonoo nodded and said "Here." with a gentle voice.

That's all it took for the cat to jump Haruki's back. At the moment, Haruki felt minor pain from the cat's claws digging to her skin before the jump.

Haruki stood up watching the cat hop to Nonoo. She lightly stretched, cracking her spine.

Nonoo ushered in the approaching cat and stroke the curve of its back.

"So, what are you here for?"

Haruki approached Nonoo, following the cat.

"I'm here to become your friend.", she answered.

Nonoo returned her gaze to Haruki, stopped petting the cat's back, and tilted her head.

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"You could stand to have a few more friends", said Asai Kei three days ago.

Haruki asked "By the way, do you have any recommendations?" and he answered "I guess Nonoo". Therefore, that day, August 11th, Haruki came to the shrine.

Nonoo nodded at the end of the explanation.

"Got it. Reasonable motive."

"On these grounds, could you be my friend?"

"Yeah, fine by me."

(I got done with my objective so swiftly. I imagined making friends took a lot more time. Who could have thought it was that easy?)

"Well, take a seat."

Because of Nonoo's request, Haruki sat next to her. On the short staircase in front of the shrine. The branches of the nearby trees stretched above her, forming a shade from the sun.

The shadows of the leaves flickered with the blowing wind, letting whispers of sunlight leak through.

"On that note, what do you consider a friend to be?", Nonoo asked, looking at a cat.

"A person who plays or studies together with you, as far as I know. The key points should be spending a considerable amount of time together and lacking a hierarchy between the two."

(I checked "friend" in the dictionary before coming here. I'm sure I didn't answer wrong.)

Nonoo giggled.

"You won't get me studying. I don't have the patience for it."

"Then would you play something?"

"Not a bad idea, but I prefer sitting down and chatting."

Haruki nodded. She was okay with anything.

"What should we talk about?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't have any preference."

Nonoo giggled.

"You're always so honest."

She disagreed but didn't say it out loud.

Instead, Haruki asked her own question.

"Is honesty a problem?"

"It's generally a virtue. But it can become a problem occasionally."

"When, for example?"

"For example, do you like me?"

"No, I don't like or dislike you."

Nonoo giggled again.

"Those words can hurt people, depending on whom. Not me though, I prefer the comfortable distance."

A cat climbed to Nonoo's lap. She put her hand on its head and continued.

"Comfortable is always the way to go. Oh, I know, we should talk about something stupid and meaningless, the kind of talk that pushes you to fall asleep. Pure conversational fluff with nothing productive."

Stupid and meaningless chatter.

Asai Kei was fond of that. But Haruki was unable to spontaneously come up with topics for it. So she needed to ask the important question.

"About what, specifically?"

"Let's see. How about we try to find the kindest sentence in the world?"

"The kindest sentence?"

"It could be the most fun or joy-bringing sentence if you prefer. As long as it's not the saddest or the most desolating. We could do this for pretty much anything, but let's start with kindness today."

Nonoo turned her gaze to Haruki.

"What's the kindest sentence in the world to you?"

She never thought about that. She didn't even know where to start. The question had her blindfolded in a labyrinth.

"I don't know.", Haruki answered.

Nonoo nodded.

"Then let's take a more concrete line of thought—Imagine a starving cat asleep on the chilly asphalt on a cold night. He's exhausted and emaciated. Do you believe there is any sentence capable of bringing solace to this cat?"

Haruki imagined a cat.

An emaciated cat. Exhausted, starved, and shivering.

Haruki could tell the cat was suffering. She knew it didn't want words. It would take milk and a blanket to save the cat. That would fill its stomach and let it sleep sound somewhere warmer.

(Is there any sentence that can replace milk and a blanket? Is it possible to save the cat with words?)

She thought of an answer but wasn't confident she got it right.

"You don't need to rack your brain so much. Pointless chatter doesn't have answers. Just say whatever comes to mind.", Nonoo smiled.

Haruki quickly nodded and answer.

"Then I'd say 'I'll go search for what you want'."

"Hmm?"

"I'd promise to bring back milk, blankets, and whatever else it needs."

(But does this count as kind words? I believe I'm circumventing the design of the question. Because what will ultimately save the cat is the fulfillment of the promise, not the sentence itself.)

That's why Haruki thought her answer was wrong, but Nonoo nodded satisfied.

"Good one. A promise that leads into hope."

"Oh, hope?"

"Knowing that he'll be saved in due to time might inspire the cat to endure the hunger and the cold night a while longer. Cats and people alike need hope to endure suffering."

"Is hope kind?"

Nonoo quietly giggled.

"Not necessarily. I could be just cruel. The cat could still be starved and shivering in the cold the next day. But I have to say the will to give others hope is kind."

(I don't get it.)

Haruki started thinking she didn't know the definition of kindness. That she knew only a superficial meaning and assumed that was whole nuance.

That's why Haruki needed to ask her question to Nonoo.

"What do you consider to be the kindest sentence of all?"

"If I found a cat suffering from hunger and cold, I'd say 'It's so cold. I'm hungry and it's so cold'.", Nonoo answered with her head tilted and her hands softly scratching a cat.

"Would that save the cat?"

"Not a chance. Nothing I can say would make a difference. But it would tell the cat I'm on the same boat."

"And what does that accomplish?"

"Depends on him. If I invite the cat to look for food, he'll answer 'let's go'. If I say I want a warm bed, he'll completely agree."

"And what if the cat doesn't say anything?"

"Then I'll sleep next to him, also without saying anything."

Haruki didn't know if Nonoo's answer was correct.

(What would Kei decide?), Haruki thought. She had a tendency to think that whenever she was indecisive. When she didn't know what to say, the words often came out naturally when she tried to imagine his voice.

Haruki imagined Kei's answer and spoke.

"I found your answer very sincere."

(That's what he'd say, I'm sure.)

"Sincere how?"

"You accept reality as it is, without trying to distort it."

"And is that a kind thing to do?"

"I don't know."

She still didn't know what kindness meant.

"But I believe it would bring some modicum of peace to the cat.", Haruki added.

Nonoo smiled without giggling.

"That's nice."

"Agreed."

"But the thing is… I don't trust words much."

She scratched the cat's neck area with complete naturality. The cat closed its eyes and yawned loud.

"Are you unable to trust words at all?"

"When you verbalize what's on your mind, people might interpret it completely wrong. This kinda unpleasant."

"The dictionary contains the meanings to all words."

"Yeah, sure. But this dictionary is also made of words. You need to know words to look up the meanings of other words."

(I see the problem now. That's certainly complicated.)

Haruki believed that if she looked up "kind" on the dictionary right now, she wouldn't be able to assimilate its meaning.

"I pet cats as an expression of love. But how can I express this same level of affection through words?", Nonoo said.

Haruki thought about it. She didn't have an answer.

The silence persisted. The locusts cried in the distance.

After a while, Nonoo shook her head.

"Sorry, that was a bad question."

"Not at all."

"But that's the appeal of stupid chatter for me. I love questions without answers. They make for pure conversational fluff with nothing productive. A space where conveying your message incorrectly will never become a problem."

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The two proceeded to spend a long time saying whatever came to their minds. Chatting about their recent dreams, the shapes of the clouds, and the beans on a cat's paws.

A conversation with no meaning, a simple exchange of voiced words that they'd forget the next day.

Eventually, the sun begins to set and Haruki stands up from her seat at the stone staircase. Then, in a moment of sudden curiosity, she asked:

"Did we become friends?"

Nonoo looked puzzled.

"Maybe? Still feels closer to acquaintance territory to me."

Haruki agreed, but couldn't explain why.

(I figured I hadn't achieved the objective yet. But I'm not on any deadline.)

Nonoo smiled.

"Come back again whenever you feel like it."

"Will that makes us friends?"

"It will. One conversation makes us acquaintances, but many makes us friends."

"Is that how it works?"

"Not sure, but I think so. Besides, I liked you rather well. It won't take long until we're friends."

(Great news.)

"I was actually quite uneasy. Previously, I only had one person I could call a friend."

"Only one? You mean Asai?"

"Not him."

(No matter how much we talk, I don't believe he'll ever fit the friends category. He belongs in his own, more special and inexplicable, category.)

The only one she could consider a friend was a girl she met two years ago. A girl who loved playing at the swings and had a tendency to grip the hem of Haruki's uniform skirt. But Nonoo didn't know her, so Haruki didn't see the point of mentioning her by name.

"Then will be back another day."

"Sure, I'll be waiting."

After a quick wave, Haruki turned her back to Nonoo.

The light beginning to mix with the madder red of sunset stretched the shadows of the trees.

Haruki Misora climbed down the mountain thinking about today's results.

Haruki Misora's friend-making operation was still ongoing.

She didn't know when she would have anything to show for it. But she didn't think it mattered how long it'd take.