otakween

[otakween]

11eyes - Character Song CDs

(General info about all of the 11eyes albums can be found here).

Back in the 2000s every single anime/game pretty much came with image song CDs (I remember Haruhi had a wild amount). I love these and wish they were still as prominent today. Maybe it's because I love musicals? IDK. I just think they're neat.

These also play into 11eyes more lovey dovey romance side rather than its dark and edgy side. I like when darker media has fluffy side content like that.

Yuka Minase - Because I'll Always Love You

(Youtube here | Translation here)

Okay, even though I hate Yuka as a character, I gotta admit this song is really nice. It's pleasant to listen to and the lyrics are very sweet. If I separate them from the toxic weirdo they're coming from, it's a cute love song 😅 (Also, good job VA!) I love how Japanese people say "darling" haha

Original Relay Drama - Yuka Minase & Misuzu Kusakabe's Colors

(Youtube here)

A generic scene between Yuka and Misuzu where Yuka gushes about Kakeru and Misuzu is jealous (eye roll). At least I learned a new word! (noroke = gushing about your lover). No translation for this one, but I was able to get by okay.

I really wish they could have done something more interesting with a one on one scene with Yuka and Misuzu instead of making it all about Kakeru -_- Of course, it's to be expected.

I'm not sure what a "relay drama" is. Is that just a two character drama?

Misuzu Kusakabe - Double Edged Sword

(Youtube w/ eng sub)

Misuzu sings about being a badass troubled by love, very fitting. Her song has some nice instrumentals. Less poppy compared to Yuka's and more ballad-y. I wonder if all the songs will be love songs? I guess that's what an eroge audience would want lol.

Couldn't find a great translation for this one, but the Youtube vid with subs is close enough. The lyrics are pretty simple for the most part.

Original Relay Drama - Misuzu Kusakabe & Yukiko Hirohara's Cyberiada

(Youtube here)

Yukiko and Misuzu hang out at Cyberiada alone and chat about Misuzu's future plans. This one was pretty revealing: A. This takes place after the game's epilogue and Misuzu has already gone back to her village B. It's connected to Yuka's drama (above) because in both it's mentioned that Kakeru is "up to something" with the other guys.

It was a little laughable how convenient Misuzu's story was "Yep, I'm coming back to Ayamegaoka forever. Yep, my Dad and I reconciled and everything's fine and dandy." Well, that was easy lol. She basically pulled a Moana and said "we don't have to be isolated in our village, we can spread the Kusakabe style to the world!" I guess that makes sense.

Random tea about the Cyberiada manager's wife having a baby. I thought they were older than that for some reason...Maybe it's just the wife that's young.

Yukiko Hirohara - Sweet My Lover

(Youtube here | Translation here)

Omg I loved this one! Yukiko's singing voice sounds so different from her speaking voice but it's so nice and soothing sounding. I love how they incorporated her vocal quirks (mochi no ronron).

I'm picturing her singing this song about Takahisa instead of Kakeru because that's obviously the superior relationship.

Just like Yuka's song, this is a generic lovey dovey pop song, but a catchy one!

Original Relay Drama - Yukiko Hirohara & Kukuri Tachibana's Club for the Study of Modern Society

(Youtube here)

Another "what should I do with my life?" conversation, this time with Kukuri advising Yukiko. She basically decides to stay in Ayamegaoka and visit Tsukiko via short commute. Once again, it was nice to have a one-on-one with an unusual pairing.

Why didn't I see it before...? I think I totally headcanon Yukiko as autistic now. She starts lore dumping on Kukuri about European literature before apologizing, but Kukuri tells her she doesn't mind and that Yukiko talk at her own pace. That part was very sweet <3

Not a mention of Kakeru in sight! I guess they decided to keep this CD as vague as possible for the Takahisa fans? I like that.

Kukuri Tachibana - All of my Feelings

(Youtube here)

Unfortunately I couldn't find an English translation for this one but you can plop the YouTube transcript into a translator and it's pretty accurate. The lyrics are very simple and about Kukuri wanting to convey her feelings to Kakeru.

I did like how they themed the song around Kukuri's muteness (even though she's talking now lol). A lot of the song is about being able to understand each other without words which was pretty sweet.

Original Relay Drama - Kukuri Tachibana & Yuka Minase on the Rooftop

(Youtube here)

A one-on-one talk with Kukuri and Yuka about Kukuri's newfound ability to talk and Yuka's emotional journey regarding her "big sister's" "return." I felt it covered important ground that didn't get much screen time in the VN.

The thing that stuck out to me most here was Yuka saying "I'm sorry" to Kukuri Satsuki. It made me think about how Yuka could have (accidentally) had a hand in Kukuri's suicide (due to her powers causing the orphanage incident). Honestly, it's impressive that Yuka's holding it together at all after all that...

There's something really endearing about Kukuri still pursuing drawing even though she sucks so bad lol. Coming from me who gave up drawing because it was too hard essentially...(well more like too time consuming).

Cast Messages

All four of these CDs have a "cast message" at the end (tragically I couldn't find Kukuri's though). They're all a bit generic and short, so I don't have much to say. Some highlights are Yukiko's voice actor commenting that she thought Yukiko's song would be weirder (lol) and a couple VAs remarking about how cool it was to have rare character one-on-ones.

[otakween]

12-sai - Volumes 3 & 4

Can we talk about how hard it is to search for any content about this series? The title is too short for starters, but I also feel creepy as hell searching "12 years old!" Maybe I should just search character names or the name of the mangaka. Usually when I go through a series I like to see what fan stuff is out there, but I'm not expecting much (kids should be off the internet anyways).

Volume 3

This was the homewrecker volume for some reason. Both Hanabi and Yui get another dude that's trying to break up their relationship. They're even both blonde? Really? Oh well...pointless drama is pointless. I didn't really enjoy those scenes.

Hanabi/Takao and Yui/Hiyama go on a double date and we get to see their different dynamics. Hanabi/Takao are like "expectations" (naturally lovey dovey) and Yui/Hiyama are "reality" (constantly anxious, unsure what to do with their bodies). It's cute and validating that both relationships are presented as valid. It tells kids that it's okay to be awkward with intimacy.

More puberty topics like shaving and pimples. It's actually kind of refreshing seeing these things discussed because usually anime girls have to be so pristine. (The pimple stuff was kinda triggering though...I don't want to relive that lol).

As an adult, it's always funny to hear what "wisdom" Marin has from her sister. I was interested to read what the Japanese tips are for acne treatment. They sounded about the same as what I've heard in the US. I guess this manga is like "The Care and Keeping of You" in disguise.

One of the fanartists mentioned their age! They were 12 (lol what a shocker). I guess I was pretty into cheesy shoujo stuff around that age too, so checks out. (Nowadays it's more of a nostalgia thing).

Volume 4

I only just realized that there aren't any school uniforms in this series. I guess that's one of the benefits of shoujo set in elementary, you can draw all sorts of cute clothes!

I guess Japan has the same "make a wish on a bracelet and it will come true when it falls off" thing that we do. My sister was obsessed with those.

Seeing how Hanabi made her friend group was really cute. They were too young at 10 to be fully into romance. I know this is a romance series, but I kinda wish it could just be a slice of life like it was in that chapter lol.

I know it's completely innocent, but I couldn't help comparing Marin's tricks to the toxic TikTok trends where girls tell other girls to test their boyfriends. Luckily, we're not really supposed to take her seriously most of the time (and Hanabi refused one of her more manipulative suggestions).

I kinda feel like Takao is too smooth to be a realistic 6th grader, but I'll suspend my disbelief lol.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 30

Oh wow! I didn't know that they would do such a cliff hangery ending, I thought for sure there would be a boss battle to wrap up the season. Oh well, I prefer character moments to battles anyways!

Notes:

Yay! Looks like we're ditching Akari and Zenjirou after all! 🥳 They were such dead weight oh my God (not Taiki being like "Akari, you cheered us up sometimes." Wow, such a warrior...)

At least they gave Akari and Zenjirou something to do in their send off, they were able to power up Shoutmon. For a split second I thought they were going to fuse together or something lol

Shoutmon digivolved! That was pretty hype, honestly. Taiki being like "digivolution? What's that?" made me laugh. Low key I wonder if they heard feedback that people didn't really like the fusion stuff. OmegaShoutmon's design is pretty decent, but I don't understand why they put that spike on his crotch 😑

We got to see Taiki's hot mom again! I completely forgot about her. Is she a single mom? If so, that's pretty cool representation-wise. Loved her reaction to Taiki's story and then seeing Tactimon.

Tiny Shoutmon being able to perch on Taiki's shoulder was really cute.

Really didn't expect Omegamon/Omnimon to be the narrator from the beginning, random. We got some Digimemory lore which felt kind of made up on the spot honestly.

They turned squid ink pasta into chocolate pasta in the dub lol. God forbid we introduce American kid to exotic foods 🙄 (it was funny though, ngl)

We get a reveal at the end that Yuu (Nene's brother) is probably a bad guy? Wha? I guess that's enough of a cliff hanger to leave me wanting more. I did have to Google who he was though lol (I was just checking he was related to Nene and not Kiriha).

So next season will be with Nene, Taiki, and Kiriha instead of Taiki, Akari, and Zenjirou? Why didn't they just do that from the start? 😑 I wonder if they'll cut back to Akari and Zenjirou or if they'll just show up in the epilogue or something.

Wellll...it wasn't the strongest Digimon season, but I didn't hate it or anything. It was entertaining enough and the animation was pretty consistent. I would put it at a similar rank to Frontier, but I think Frontier had more interesting character dynamics honestly. Hopefully they turn up the character drama in the next 2 seasons, because so far the emotional depth is very shallow. Also, please take the spotlight off of Taiki and Shoutmon! Interested to see how this weird 3 parter series goes.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 29

Oh hell yeah, I love a real world reveal. 😎 Feels so unfamiliar to get to an "ending" so soon since I'm used to the 50-ish episode seasons. One more episode of season 1 to go!

Side note: I will be taking a Digimon gaming break between each season to split them up :)

Notes:

I was kind of grouchy and distracted going into this episode due to the title only mentioning Taiki and Kiriha. Like, I get that they're both leaders of their respective teams, but it made me more aware of Nene being treated as an afterthought. Kiriha gets to do his own fusions while Nene just gets to be an accessory to Taiki. It just feels shitty, as a woman watching this stuff. Why couldn't they have called the episode Xros Heart and Blue Flare vs. the Bagra Army? No, they always gotta make it about the rival boys -_-

Them bringing up Zenjirou's kendo thing was just kind of embarrassing. Like, "oh yeah, this character's backstory really is that boring..." Honestly, can Akari and Zenjirou stay in the real world? We're on episode 29 and other than doing a silly dance they've barely served any purpose.

So apparently Taiki's Xros Loader/Code Crowns can now "purify" digimon. This sorta goes against the original Digimon's message that there are no "evil" and "good" types of digimon, but whatever. We have seen this sort of thing before, like when Cherubimon got purified.

So when Taiki got the last Code Crown, his ownership of the zones became official? I thought that was already official. This is weird system lol. (Also, 108 is a pretty random number, I wonder if it's a Japanese pun or something)

Still unclear what Kiriha's whole deal is. Wonder if we'll have to wait for future seasons to get any real answers...I assume he'll get fully redeemed at some point (if not in the next episode lol).

Still seems like Taiki isn't using his army properly. It was nice to see everyone come out and assist, but couldn't he have fused some of the others together? Can he only maintain one fused digimon at a time? The lack of variety in battle digimon has been a real weakness of this season.

Why did only Shoutmon make it to the real world? Where are Kiriha and Nene?

Damemon is back, DAME DAME! :D

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 28

This episode was kinda messed up. Lots of unsettling imagery like a giant digimon shredder and digimon being forcibly transformed into Raremon. Of course, everything is fine in the end cuz it's a kids show lol.

Notes:

So many cute Cutemon faces it was hard to not just post them all

(I still prefer Terriermon's personality though)

Nene had some nice moments with Zenjirou and Taiki for once. Glad she's feeling more integrated into the team. (I especially liked the animation for Taiki and Nene's double digi-xros).

I know the word "boring" has multiple meanings, but "infinity boring" is still a pretty unintentionally funny attack name.

Breakdramon has a fun design. Sure to be popular with Tonka truck loving kids everywhere lol

Cutemon's parents are toxic with their "boys don't cry" bullshit (a shitty messaged to teach kids). I was proud of Taiki for being like "actually, you can cry whenever you need to, bro." They also made it more about age than gender in the dub, which I guess is an improvement. Cutemon yelling "I'M A BOYYYY" was kinda funny.

I'll ask again, why isn't Nene looking for her brother?? They could at least mention it so it doesn't feel so awkward...

Based on the preview it seems like Tactimon will be the big bad for the season. Meh, feels kinda generic to me. But there's two seasons to go so they can't make it that epic.

I only just noticed this but dub!Zenjirou (Jeremy) kinda sounds like Shaggy sometimes lol

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 27

There was a big dip in the animation quality in this episode, but I can't resist a baking/cooking episode! Finally some food that's not diginoir! It's like they read my previous post lol.

This took me back to when I was obsessed with Yumeiro Patissiere.

Notes:

I was nice to see some new digimon this episode. Spadamon was really cute (though I expected a more food-themed design) and Matadormon is...interesting. You know, I kinda feel like Matadormon would fit in in the Okami universe.

This was definitely one of the more lighthearted episodes, so many banana puns...even Dorulumon got some goofy moments

It was nice to have another Akari focused episode (even though it was about her sucking at baking lol). Nene was also around...for some reason. (Still no explanation on what happened with her brother search).

They gave Matadormon a Spanish accent in the dub XD

There was some off model stuff in this episode, but it all kinda looked good? The only really egregious thing was Monzaemon talking with zero lip flaps (basically a still shot).

Was Spadamon's little chef hat buddy supposed to be Flamemon? I hate how they don't label the digimon (or just say their name) in the original Japanese. What am I supposed to call them!? Well, maybe next episode...

WaruMonzaemon doesn't really look like a kid's show character with his red/pink eyes. He looks like he'd fit in on an adult swim show or something.

We got to see Mama/Papa Cutemon again with their silly hats. Cracks me up 😂

It kinda felt like they mentioned "Xros Heart" like a zillion times this episode. It's like they're trying to get kids to memorize the branding or something.

Wait...whisk tail?

(I just noticed in my screenshots lol)

Only 3 episodes left in season 1 of Xros Wars and it kinda feels like the status quo hasn't changed much in awhile. We've got another Sweets Zone episode next so maybe 29 and 30 will be a more serious two parter?

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 26

Hm, this felt like a weaker one to me. Even though there was a plot reveal, a new fusion, and a big villain defeat it somehow felt like not much happened. I'm very sick of diginoir. Why did they think that was a good idea? -_-

Notes:

The main plot of this episode was about Shoutmon struggling to keep up with all of the fusions/xros (xrosses?) It's definitely good for a main character to show weakness, but it seemed pretty easily resolved by the end of the episode.

The Blastmon fight was pretty boring. It kinda feels like "him again?" at this point. At least we got some new lore about him (his ability to create doubles through his shards).

I wonder if Blastmon's dialogue in the original Japanese was improvised at all? He says a lot of goofy stuff that feels unscripted.

A lot of Engrish in this episode which is always fun. I wonder if they ever add English to pass off shows as more educational? (Like how we have random Spanish in our shows sometimes). It's probably more just to sound cool...

Ballistamon holding onto Shoutmon's tail when they were sneaking around at night was really cute.

All the talk of fusing being hard on Shoutmon's body made me wonder what a Shoutmon (non-fusion) digivolution would look like. Maybe if he had a bigger form the fusing would be less harsh?

So Damemon/Tsuwarmon is secretly conspiring against the Bagramon army. This season has too many groups for me to keep track of 😵‍💫

Nene randomly appearing at the end was kind of stupid. It's like the show's saying "she's only relevant if we need her digimon for a fusion." Also...how did she know that this battle was going down exactly? She just decided to take a break from searching for her brother?

Taiki hears another "melody" at the end of the episode. I still think this whole music theme feels really out of place and inconsistent.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 25

This episode was kinda boring, but the visuals were nice. I liked the disc zone's design (even though it's kinda random). It was also cool to see Mercurymon and Lunamon again (I feel like Lunamon deserves more hype honestly).

Kiriha was acting like, Death Note levels of hammy evil this episode, which is weird because I coulda sworn he was kinda chill a few episodes ago. Oh well, I guess things are ramping up.

Notes:

Kiriha mocking Blastamon's attack name caught me off guard lol (though I have no clue what a "zubagon" is). I'm glad they kept that line in the dub.

I was pretty shook when Kiriha's digimon bitch slapped Taiki 😨 someone should make a compilation video of top 10 Digimon smackdowns. Taiki didn't really react that much which was a little disappointing.

Lilithmon's weird Damemon companion continues to be entertaining, "Dame! Dame!" I like how she thinks he's neat.

Speaking of digimon who forget they're digimon...the Evilmon say "evil" in a Japanese accent at the end of their sentences lol. Imagine if they did that in the dub?

Kiriha's intensity was kinda hot in this episode ngl 😏 (you know, if he wasn't like 12 or however old these kids are supposed to be). His goal is kinda stupid though. World domination is just a boring goal.

Wait, why did the fusion dissolve again? (shrug)

When they revealed that Nene wasn't with the group because she's "looking for her brother" I was so annoyed. We just got her, wtf!? Also, didn't Taiki tell her that they'd help search for her brother?? What happened to that!? Way to kill her character's momentum 😑They probably won't give her a solo episode either, huh?

Only 5 episodes to go! Well...in this season. I'm planning on taking a gaming break in between seasons to break things up :)

[otakween]

I can't be the only one who sees the similarities...

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 24

Shiny Nene returns! Why do they keep animating her like that? It looks kinda good but very out of place lol. This was actually a Zenjirou episode which was a nice change of pace. He's a pretty boring character, not gonna lie, but I'm always happy when they give people other than Taiki stuff to do.

Notes:

I've kinda already mentioned this, but the Digimemories are such a letdown of a gimmick. I think it's because the digimon summons are dead silent and look like fuzzy holograms. It's just never exciting like you'd expect.

Dorulumon babysitting Zenjirou and the Monitamon was a funny bit

Loved all of the Japanese-styled digimon at the temple. Kabukimon's design was super cool and it was cool to see one of the Devas again (Caturamon).

Nene's xros loader moment was pretty exciting. I think the animators knew she'd be a favorite (the redeemed character always is). He white xros loader reminds me of when Rika switched to her full heart shirt in Tamers.

Babamon did catch me off guard there, I thought it would just be another Monitamon. (Why is Babamon their princess tho? Digimon society is so random...)

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 23

This episode must have been such a pain to localize...so many puns. I don't know why but I've never liked ninjas. The whole vibe does nothing for me (even though I loved Naruto in middle school like everyone else). Nice to have a silly breather episode, even though this season hasn't been that dark to begin with lol.

Notes:

New opening visuals to show off all the fusions and some new characters. Honestly the reused animation felt pretty cheap though. I suppose we'll get a new song in season 2. Will we ever get an ED?

I thought it was pretty clever that the weaker Monitamon had crappier reception when playing videos. Why did they think to combine ninjas and TV-themed digimon? Is it because there are ninja in TV dramas a lot? (I don't actually watch Japanese period drama so IDK).

It sorta felt like the Etemon added nothing. They seemingly only put them in the episode so there was a reason to fuse (other than the gag fusions)

Karatenmon requiring a laugh battle reminded me of that one character from Neopets who gives you prizes if you make him laugh. I'm not really sure why Akari and Nene were able to get him to crack. I wonder if he just likes girls better lol

Why were the gag fusions better than the actual fusions? The Cutemon and Monitamon fusions were fire. They seemed more cleanly combined and recognizable than the other fusions.

Etemon ripping off their "skin" only to have more skin underneath (under their ninja outfits) was a mind fuck

Akari being happy to see Nene smile was sweet. She probably doesn't feel right smiling and laughing when her brother's in trouble :(

Not the random Seinfeld reference in the dub lol

I just noticed that Taiki says "listen to the melody of this digimon I caught" at the end of each sub episode, but catching digimon isn't really a thing so I don't know what he's talking about...? (I guess putting them in his Xros loader could be consider catching but they volunteer so...)

[otakween]

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 22

I loved this episode! It was a nice change of pace and almost like a bottle episode. Wisemon is a really fun character. I like how he's kind of neutral good. Also, he lives inside a transdimensional book which is just cool.

Notes:

We got some Digital World lore which I always appreciate. The explanation that the Digital World existed before humans is really fun. (It also makes my brain hurt considering how many digimon are based on human concepts, but oh well!)

In addition to that lore we also got some counts for how many code crowns all the "teams" have. The numbers were pretty unexpected to me since we haven't exactly seen the Bagra army or Kiriha collecting crowns. Huh...this would make a good board game, wouldn't it?

Taiki helping a digimon who was about to vivisect him was kinda wild, but it worked in the long run I guess lol. All the "specimen" scenes were kinda freaky..

Arkadimon being a digimon that specifically hunts in the rift between zones was cool too. I liked their design.

Bastemon does something useful for once and Knightmon makes a reappearance! Nice.

I was all excited for Nene to join the crew and then she's unconscious the whole episode, figures -_-

Monitamon was a ninja this whole time!? I feel like I only noticed that on a subliminal level and now it's finally clicked. Next episode looks like a silly goofy good time.

[otakween]

12-sai (manga) - Volumes 1 & 2

I've seen all of the anime for this, but I've never read the manga. To my surprise, it's never been translated into English 😭 No respect for kids' manga, I guess. Anyways, this series isn't that memorable, but it's a cute, fluffy time. Very much "baby's first shoujo manga" vibes. It also has an otome game I look forward to checking out.

By the way, if you study Japanese (like me) this is great beginners reading practice! (Anything kodomomuke would be, I guess).

Volume 1

So Hanabi and Takao are like the generic, perfect couple and Yui and Hiyama are the more angsty, tsundere guy/anxious girl couple. Obviously the latter is more compelling which is probably why they get more screentime. This series has 20 volumes, so I'm hoping we get some character development.

Maybe I'm just naive, but I don't remember this much sexual harassment when I was in 6th grade. If boys went around flipping girls' skirts it would probably lead to some serious repercussions. The immaturity feels realistic though.

Speaking of immaturity, the intensity of Yui and Hiyama's relationships, Yui's constant crying, and them being equally embarrassed and awkward was very sweet. I think that's this series' selling point. Innocent puppy love :)

Hiyama telling Yui she doesn't need to rush into being intimate because they have forever was pretty smooth for a 6th grader

The "a girl's arm feels just like her boobs" thing definitely stuck with me from the anime lol. That elementary school logic...(I mean, kinda true though)

Super cute that a bunch of fanart was included. I kinda wish they put in the ages of the fans because I'm curious about this series' demographics (probably 12 and under I guess). Either way, they're all more talented than me lol.

The teacher crying in the background whenever the boys acted like lil shits was a mood 😂

Volume 2

More puberty drama and bullying. The first chapter was all about buying your first bra. I don't remember anyone giving two shits about that when I was 12 tbh. I vaguely remember wearing some kind of tank top before I graduated to bras, but I don't think getting my first real bra was a big occasion nor was I excited about it. Of course, I'm sure some girls are (a la Lizzie McGuire lol).

We get more of a feel for Hanabi and Takao's dynamic in this volume. I really like Hanabi chapters cuz she's so cute. I wasn't cutesy like her, but I was also a late bloomer and clung on to childhood, so I can relate to her.

Takao continues to be a generic prince but he does manage to get mad at Hanabi at least (for a good reason). The other boys in class keeping a record of all his cheesy lines was funny. I could definitely see kids doing that lol.

Hanabi gets a second admirer (Tsutsumi) for extra drama. They have that dynamic where he's kinda an asshole but Hanabi is such a ray of sunshine that she keeps trying to befriend him (Kyo and Tohru vibes). He might be more interesting than Takao, but more toxic (funny how that works).

The chapter where no one has their own cellphone made me nostalgic. Remember when kids didn't have phones? 😭Good times...(eh, who am I kidding, I got my first one around that age).

Hiyama's mom teasing him about having a girlfriend was also adorable. I hope we get some parent scenes!

Bonus chapter (one-shot): Hitotsu Hana Saitara

A cheesy and predictable story, but it was pretty sweet nonetheless. These "spirit of person in coma visits friends" stories seem common in Japanese media. I wonder how far back that goes? (I can't think of many western examples...)

If I over-analyze stuff, the main couple actually didn't seem that compatible 😅 I know there's more to relationships than food and movie tastes though. It really turned me off how he kept telling her she needed to act more girly to find a boyfriend. I guess he wasn't being all that serious though.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 21

I think it's just because I'm distracted by other stuff today, but I struggled to get super invested in this one. My bad! It definitely had some cool moments but there were a lot of exposition scenes that slowed it down a bit.

Notes:

It was fun to see Lilithmon interact with another villain. I feel like it's kind of unusual to have competing villains in Digimon? I'm probably just forgetting something though...

Taiki being able to punch Kiriha back to his senses was satisfying. Digimon continues the trend of "punching each other = friendship" lol. Kiriha gained +2 respect for Taiki

I think there was a new digi-xros/digi-fuse animation? There was a more elaborate closeup of the xros loader. It felt like a toy ad, not gonna lie. (Hey, it's effective, I kinda want one).

Obviously I know everything will be okay, but Nene trusting Taiki is a big gamble from her POV. For all she knows, DarkKnightmon could insta-kill her brother the second she leaves that tower. We don't even know where he is! It'll be interesting to see how they rescue him.

That MetalGreymon/Cyberdramon fusion was an abomination 😳I can't figure out where its face is!

So DarkKnightmon's evil plan was forced fusion? The implications of that could be pretty creepy. I'm not sure why he would need to "force" his own subordinates to fuse with him, that was confusing to me...It would have been more unsettling if he fused with the good guys, but I'm guessing that comes later.

Hm, I kinda like Bagramon's design. We usually get effeminate big bads, so it's nice to have a burly guy for a change of pace.

Nene's on the team now, hurray! This opens up way more opportunities for fun character moments. 🤩 Let's hope they don't tarnish it by giving us a bunch of jealous Akari moments -_-

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 20

I'll just say again, I really like this season's dedication to having interesting settings. It really keeps things exciting. This was a more low key episode than the previous, but had plenty of fun moments. Also, more train digimon! Makes me nostalgic for Frontier lol.

Notes:

Pinocchimon was so cute in this episode. I don't think they played with his nose growing in the past? It was funny when Akari couldn't remember what the significance of that was.

This zone kinda gives Mad Max vibes with everyone stealing to please the overlord-like GrandLocomon. I like the darker tone contrasted with the lovey-dovey jungle zone.

Please enjoy this frame of Taiki:

(usually they don't let anime characters get this ugly lol)

Akari chucking Dorulumon to cushion Taiki's fall was really funny, but he also has massive blades jutting out of his back, so I'm not sure he makes the best pillow.

Pinocchimon being dragged along the tracks seemed uncharacteristically violent, but I guess he's fine? I was just thinking back to that one scene in Baccano (iykyk). Shoutmon and Dorulumon also get ground against GrandLocomon's wheel like it's no big deal (bars)

It sorta felt like Kiriha fell for DarkKnightmon's trap a little too easily, but whatever. First he used Nene and now Kiriha :'( I wonder where Nene really is? It's kind of weird he needs to rely on children to begin with. I know humans give digimon extra power and all, but there's so many villains that don't rely on that.

Final shot of DarkKnightmon looking very Gurren Lagann-esque. Are the digimon in the back Kiriha's? (Maybe corrupted versions?)

[otakween]

16bit Sensation: Another Layer - Episode 9

Yet another cliffhanger, this show loves those. This one was pretty good! It was inspiring and exciting to see them finish their "big comeback" game. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes montage a lot. Looks like we're going back to weird stuff next time.

Notes:

I know the butterfly effect is something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings, but a few bishoujo games being release changed the future that much!? I don't know if I buy it. Maybe if it was something more mainstream like a hit TV show or movie, but I feel like bishoujo games are too niche to have that big an impact. (Well, anything's possible with time travel, I guess 🤷‍♀️)

The description of the game they put out sounded insane, 500-ish CGs!? (I don't remember the exact number lol). Do the character models and backgrounds count as CGs because that sounds like an absurd amount to me.

I didn't realize that the main cast did the music and character voices for their games as well. Did that really happen back in the day? If so, damn, that's impressive.

Someday I too will take a bath at an onsen and then drink fruit flavored milk lol. I just...can't go with anyone I know >_>

The quality of game they demoed and then Mamoru flashing the floppy disks did not compute in my brain. Ain't no way...

I wish we had an equivalent of "Banzai" in the US. It would be fun to shout "Hooray!" with my coworkers, but ain't nobody doing that lol (I'm not sure if Japanese people shout banzai nowadays in professional settings, but it looks fun).

Loved the reference to the humble beginnings to modern day Akihabara with the Dejiko building. I wonder which anime are plastered all over the place nowadays? When I was there in 2017 it was Sword Art Online stuff lol

Touya's hair still annoys me, hair doesn't work like that. Also, I felt bad when Konoha gave her the incomprehensible "now may not be the right time" answer. I guess Japanese people are more accustomed to vague answers though...

Konoha's voice continues to be extremely grating. That last line where she calls Mamoru an old man would have been funny but she screamed it and it was irritating instead.