miguelvaldes99

[miguelvaldes99]

Go-Tōbun no Hanayome, a pleasant surprise

Watching Instagram stories, I came across an advertisement for an anime clothing store with a hoodie that looked really cute, so cute that I bought it. But this put me in a difficult position. I had just bought a hoodie from an anime or manga I was unfamiliar with. Following my principles, I couldn't be a dirty poser, so I had to watch the anime or read the manga of whatever that hoodie was before I got it so I could wear it without embarrassment. After researching, I find out it's from a harem and I start to regret my decisions. I'll say it here and now, I despise harems. I know there are exceptions, but generally speaking they tend to be sexist, misogynistic and full of sexualization. The protagonist is usually a pig and the female leads fall in love with him for no apparent reason and their characters are usually not much more complex than the size of their boobs. But I'd already gotten into this mess. The hoodie was on its way.

That's how I ended up reading Go-Tōbun no Hanayome within a week. To my surprise, I liked it a lot. Maybe it's that I have negatively generalized harem unfairly, or indeed I came across a curious exception, but this manga didn't fall into all those things I commented on before. Perhaps in that the female protagonists fell in love with the protagonist a bit without reason, but here it is done in an innocent and harmless way. Let me explain.

This manga is about finding your own path, setting yourself apart from the rest and making your own decisions. Yes, there is a romantic plot and a constant struggle for the love of the protagonist, but this exists only to develop and give an engine to the quintuplets to find themselves and differentiate themselves from the rest. To stop being a quintet and become individuals. The quintuplets are not sexualized at any time, and although it has ecchi elements they are so small and harmless that they work as part of a romantic comedy.

Each quintuplet is a world unto itself, and although we see the story through the male protagonist, his role is that of trigger and bystander, but the story is not about him. The ending and big reveal of the story is which of the quintuplets Fuutarou marries, but even when that reveal comes, which should be the most important part of the maga, I wasn't disappointed nor excited to see who he chose (which by the way was one of my least favorite quintuplets). This is rare, in a manga like this the romantic revelation should be the highest and most shocking point of the story, but the feeling it gave me was one of... calm. Of closure. But not of victory or defeat, simply a conclusion. And this, though it may sound negative, felt to me like a great victory for the manga. That ending and the feeling it gave me showed me that the focus of this story was not on the revelation, that the existence of the manga and this story was not only sustained by that revelation.

The best part of the manga was not the ending, it was everything else. Watching all the characters grow, learn and change, while all sorts of entertaining but always light and charming situations occur. It's the first harem I've read that doesn't feel built for fans to fight over who's the best waifu while bombarding them with fanservice and sexualization to satiate their sexual predatory desires. The author seems to care more about his characters and their stories than their bodies. That in itself is a novelty and for me a pleasant surprise. Oh and also, the drawings are gorgeous.

Now I can wear my Itsuki hoodie with pride.

[miguelvaldes99]

Sailor Moon is not that good, and Im loving every minute of it

For the last year or so I have been watching Sailor Moon (the original from the 90s) casually. As a matter of tradition and nostalgia I'm watching it dubbed in Latin Spanish and not in the original language, because there's something charming about the dubbing of that time. I'm around chapter 120 of the series, corresponding to the Sailor Moon S arc, so I'm about three fifths of the way through it.

My conclusion so far: Sailor Moon is not a good story. Let me explain. Each chapter follows an identical formula during the 120 chapters I've been watching, the story is absolutely predictable and repetitive, besides being plagued with plot holes and incongruities within the story. I don't know if this is a mistake from the manga, a problem of the animated adaptation or maybe even the dubbing, but there are so many things that seem to contradict each other that sometimes it's difficult to follow the sequence of events with clarity.

But now the question is: Am I enjoying Sailor Moon? Yes, very much so. Sailor Moon doesn't stand on its story, although I also don't dismiss that it has a charming innocence despite its flaws. The real appeal of Sailor Moon for me is how wonderful it is in every aspect of its design. From the character drawings, the facial and physical expressions, the characters' outfits, that change every day and episode, the personalities of said characters, the music and sound design. Everything about Sailor Moon is charming. Everything feels warm and welcoming. Sailor moon may not have the best built story, even within Maho Shojo itself, but every second is a pleasure to watch, hear and experience.

Seeing the different clothing combinations of the main characters, all not only cute but perfectly representative of the character's personality. The animations of the transformations, impeccably animated and each one different from the others. The music and sounds of the artifacts and key moments. Sailor Moon is a series that is experienced from the senses. It feels like a comfort watch from chapter one because it conveys peace, calm and harmony. Its repetitiveness only highlights this, as I know that things will always work out in the end. I know what to expect, and it's absolute audiovisual bliss.

Miguel Valdés Gili