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Ultraman: Rising (2024)

Director - Shannon Tindle, Cinematography - John Aoshima

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Not enough people talk about how in-universe Bill is literally Satan

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so I ended up binging the Apothecary Diaries anime and, as is my wont, I then started searching for YT vids people have made talking about the show

the wild thing that keeps coming up is (mostly men/boys) talking about how Maomao is great because she's not a 'strong female character' or that she's not typically feminine when... Maomao is quite feminine but an expression of femininity that's not particularly showy, by her own design. It's like asking why reality TV never has any introverts/shy people in it. But even more then that her entire life pretty much revolves around women and taking care of/being taken care of by women.

This show will literally take you by the shoulders and say "Hey, would you like to talk about how class and gender intersect? Can we talk about how social expectations and restrictions placed on people because of their gender suck for everyone and we're all just trying to live in this gender malaise?" and it goes right over people heads because it's #Not Captain Marvel

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Anime is doing female leads better than Hollywood

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I love this fucking anime idc

Apothecary Diaries is pog as fuck bc serious political issues and dynamics from a woman's POV are rarely depicted in ANY form of media

It's always a man's world where women's issues surround him. Even if we get a female perspective once in awhile- it all comes back to how it facilitates his game in the end. She's a footnote in the overarching scheme of things. Misogyny exists. Back to the real plot.

Apothecary Diaries is strictly from a female perspective and how each class of woman has to act, what limits they have, what rights they have and don't have between each class, etc. These women have to behave a certain way under a patriarchy, which you would think makes it a man's story, but it never is. The women are THE focus of this show, their struggles are THE plot. The focus is about how the patriarch effects them.

Take the concubines for example. The show dives into how bearing a child affects their rank, how traumatizing it is to lose that child, the consequences of that, etc. We have barely seen the emperor who sired all these kids because this is not about him.

Jinshi's personal plot is secondary to Mao Mao's journey- he is mostly there to provide new cases for Mao Mao to solve and to learn more about the shortcomings of his class when taking care of citizens like Mao Mao.

Jinshi is not a bad person, but by virtue of his position in the higher classes, he cannot understand how harsh life as a poor WOMAN is specifically- he can only catch glimpses of it from what Mao Mao tells him and feel outrage but powerless in his wealth and luxury

Mao Mao is a fortunate commoner woman for what privileges someone in her class should and shouldn't have. She happened to be adopted by a knowledgeable man. She is allowed to read, write, learn, and has enough skill to be a poison tester and have a job EXTREMELY out of her class limit as an apothecary, also a job not traditionally meant for women

Mao Mao is not a "noT lIkE oThER gIrLs" protagonist, she is FOR THE GIRLIES. She only wants to help the women around her, and women are whom she has the closest relationships to. She sees a woman being harassed and can't let it stand. She sees a frail, traumatized woman dying from the recklessness of those who should be caring for her and spends day and night nursing her back to health, while also punishing the people who were so careless with her needs.

My girl has STUDIED UP on THE BODY to TEACH these upper class ladies on how to really HEAT things up in the BEDROOM

Sex depicted in Apothecary Diaries is both something women are not shamed to be enjoying, while at the same time being acknowledged as an unfortunately huge economic necessity to market themselves.

Like shit is just so real in this series???

Listen, I can go on and on about how GOATED the series and especially Mao Mao is but you get the picture

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It’s them… About their own story..

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This is basically their dynamic in a nutshell...

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Such a small detail that didn't even need to be included if this were a lesser anime. A quiet scene, a moment of gratitude without words from a woman who didn't think she still wanted to live and the woman who saved her.

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poison detective

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The fandom loves the make jokes and memes about how Jinshi cannot successfully flirt with maomao and every attempt falls flat. Hilarious, i love these jokes too. But i dont think we talk enough about how funny it also is that Jinshi also has to constantly be aware of maomao like a petowner whos pet is constantly eating shit they shouldnt

Maomao: *eating poison on purpose*

Jinshi: what are you eating?

Maomao: *starts chewing faster*

Jinshi: what is in your mouth?! Spit that out! Spit that out right now!!!

Maomao: *trying to scurry away before he catches her*

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Pleasepleasepleaepleasepleade I’m nothing

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I’ve watched a few Chinese court dramas growing up and I have to say, nobody got game like Mao Mao

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finished ep 8 of the apothecary diaries

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Jinshi can't sleep (based on that meme LMAO)

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New Maomao & Jinshi illustration! the matching outfits 😮‍💨🫶🏻

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Oo she autistique

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Maomao loves 3 things; money, wine, and drugs (she just like me fr)