#2d pv verse

[clairekatswritingcorner]

Kaito Kid’s Miraculous Night

Part One

Part Two 

Word Count: 2,180

Summary: Kaito Kuroba has been searching for the Pandora gem ever since he discovered it’s possible existence and implication in his father’s death. Upon learning some rumors from his friend Akako about gems that grant people mystical and transformative powers, known as Miraculous Stones, he decides that it’s his duty to go to Paris and investigate. Tagging along with Hakuba, who happened to be going anyway due to a case, Kaito hopes that what little information he’s been able to glean is enough of a lead to help him hunt down the most interesting gems he’s had the opportunity to target yet.

*Author’s Note*: Second part of my intro of sorts for an AU started by @edorazzi and I connecting the Magic Kaito and Miraculous Ladybug (PV) universes. Notes are pretty much the same as before. I hope you enjoy.

(both parts also available on my Ao3 account, found on my blog links)

Before their lips could meet, something grabbed his wrist. The grip was tight, tight enough to hurt, and whoever had decided to interrupt them twisted Kaito’s arm behind his back and kicked him to his knees. Kaito did his best to spin and kick his assailant, but the stranger kept hold of his arm and simply spun him around, pinning Kaito on his back. He gasped for breath under the weight of the hard black boot that stomped on his chest. Tonight was just not his night, it seemed, and as he tried to focus on this new assailant he silently cursed himself for not being more cautious.

“Stay away from her,” a deep voice warned, laced with venom. “I don’t know who you think you are or what you think you’re doing, but my Lady isn’t someone to be messed with.��

Ghostly green eyes stared daggers into Kaito’s from behind a black mask. This new stranger’s face was framed by a fluffy halo of gold and topped off with…were those cat ears? “And neither am I. Ladybug, are you alright?”

Her name was actually Ladybug. Kaito couldn’t tell if he wanted to laugh, but even if he did, his struggle for breath against the weight on his chest prevented it. Was this guy going to turn out to be something like her familiar? He had called her “my Lady,” so it wasn’t such a farfetched idea. Kaito knew enough about witches and their lore from Akako to assume that it wouldn’t be out of place for a magical girl with immortal gems in her ears to have one; although they generally weren’t anthropomorphic, and even more rarely this human.

“I’m fine, Chat, you don’t have to keep holding him down,” she gestured to the pained expression on Kaito’s face. “I don’t think he’s any real threat, or if he is an akuma, he’s a lot more…present than the others.”

Akuma? A demon? What did that have to do with anything? Or perhaps that was part of the explanation for their earlier opponent’s invisible powers. What kind of world was Kaito getting into, what realm was he on the cusp of discovering, and was it safe for him to dare to dive in? He didn’t know if he really had a choice; he had to avenge his father, and he had to make sure to shatter the Pandora gem before Snake or his employer could get their hands on it. He hadn’t come all this way to be scared away by the thrill of something beyond typical comprehension. After all, he was a master of illusion and mind bending tricks himself.

“Agency can be more dangerous than a puppet just following orders,” the boy Ladybug had addressed as Chat replied. “I don’t think we should just let him go, especially if he’s after the Miraculous. You know only Butterfly and his cronies know about them.”

“He didn’t attack me, though, and he doesn’t seem to actually know what the Miraculous are or what they can do,” Ladybug explained. “He told me he’s been looking for them, but I haven’t gotten a satisfactory explanation why out of him yet.”

“Does it matter? Miraculous hunters are the enemy, and he looks just as ridiculous as the other akumas.”

“Look who’s talking,” Kaito huffed, and Chat ground his boot against Kaito’s diaphragm.

“Let’s just round up Mime’s stolen goods and return them before--”

Their time was up in an instant. The Mime stirred from his temporary paralysis, launching an attack Ladybug barely managed to dodge with a backflip. Chat ducked to the side and Kaito scrambled backwards before he could be targeted, rummaging in his pocket for his card gun as he got to his feet. His eyes zeroed in on the weapon lying near the edge of the roof, recalling that Ladybug had knocked it out of his hands.

“This is just not my night,” he grumbled out loud, removing a deck of cards from his pocket instead and tossing a few at the villain as he sprinted behind him.

“Don’t let him get away!” Ladybug warned as she returned to a bout of intense hand to hand combat with the Mime, Chat coming to her aid with some sort of black aura in his hand. “Not after all he’s seen!”

Chat changed his direction, targeting Kaito with a feline ferocity in his eyes that sent a chill up Kaito’s spine. Kaito slid to the ground, snatching his gun and turning it on the cat boy. Chat paused for a moment, examining the gun before a light of realization came to his eyes. He took a chance that cards were the only thing it could shoot, racing at Kaito with the aura of bad luck in his hand primed for attack. Kaito rolled out of the way and watched in undisguised horror as Chat’s hand struck the roof, the black aura in his hand extending from the point of impact and making everything it touched decay and crumble. Kaito rushed away from the zone of destruction, trying to remember his composure amidst the shock and panic swirling in his head. He hadn’t faced something this dangerous or formidable since he had dealt with Spider’s mind altering abilities.

“Watch out!”

Kaito whipped around, his eyes widening as the Mime set up a weapon he was familiar with enough to recognize it just by movement. He did his best to open his glider, but time was on none of their sides tonight. Just as he had clicked the belt into place the bomb exploded, sending him and the Miraculous holders arcing off the building. His ears rung at a maddening frequency as Kaito struggled to shake off his daze and at least glide himself to the ground. Everything spun in an overwhelming vacuum as Kaito fought with his gliding mechanism, the wind’s howl and ringing from the explosion assaulting his ears. He had fallen from greater heights and survived, but he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to shake himself out of this state fast enough.

Arms slipped under him, cradling him against a chest, and in the next moment Kaito felt still. He opened his eyes, trying to force them to focus as he observed the form of the red and black heroine that had given the warning call. Once again his savior, Kaito wondered if he was even going to be able to try to steal the gems in her ears without feeling immense guilt after all she’d done for him. She set him on his feet, and he brushed himself off and adjusted his monocle and hat, raising an eyebrow as he noticed the two heroes standing before him with crossed arms and tapping feet.

He cleared his throat. “Thank you for saving me, but I don’t think this is something you’re going to be able to wipe from my memory.”

Ladybug and Chat exchanged a glance Kaito couldn’t decipher, and he didn’t take the time to as his eyes strayed once more to Ladybug’s magical earrings, also noticing an equally bright green ring nestled on one of Chat’s fingers. Had Ladybug mentioned something about more than one person having magical stones like hers? He had probably zoned out for that part, and he also knew that it was the only explanation that made sense for the display Kaito had just witnessed. This was going to get even more interesting, although the situation had already greatly surpassed anything Kaito had expected to discover.

While Chat’s ring was certainly interesting, Kaito’s main focus was still Ladybug’s striking and mystical red Miraculous Stones. Without holding them up to the moonlight, he wouldn’t be able to tell if they were the exact hue he was looking for, but it was the closest he thought he’d stumbled upon thus far. He balled his hands into fists, reminding himself that he had made a lot of progress tonight, alongside wasting a lot of opportunities. He was fatigued and there was an endless tangle of thoughts tumbling around his head. The best course of action would probably be to withdraw and make better, more sophisticated plans to secure the gems at a later date. He didn’t think he had it in him to try to go up against Chat and Ladybug in an attempt to swipe them now, and to a point he did owe them for all the times they’d saved him from acute peril this evening.

“What do you think we should do with him, my Lady?” Chat inquired, ignoring Kaito’s nonchalance towards the situation. “We could always put a tracker on him, or turn him into the police.”

“For what?” Kaito challenged, affronted by such an uncouth suggestion. “Dressing outrageously and running into you two on a rooftop? If you think that warrants incarceration than I hope you’ll be turning yourselves in as well.”

“It’s alright, I’ll just try to rearrange his memory.” Ladybug suggested, a red and black aura materializing in her hand as her earrings, seeming to power it, freshly revived their glow.

Kaito narrowed his eyes at this display, taking a few steps back. Chat zipped behind him, craning his arms behind his back and holding him in place. There was no way Kaito was going to be able to successfully fight both of them off and avoid whatever magical formula Ladybug had cooked up in her hand. Lucky for him, he didn’t have to.

A red aura outlined Ladybug and Chat as an unseen force effectively paralyzed them. Kaito felt the grip on his arms loosen and release, and he shook out his shoulders and straightened his cape. Kaito recognized the red aura well, confident that tonight’s trouble was finally over. He stopped in front of Ladybug, the aura in her hand fading as her eyes swam with a mixture of disbelief and stubbornness. He materialized a small rose in his hand, slipping it behind Ladybug’s ear, his fingers trembling a bit at being so close to the gems. He reminded himself that good things come to those who wait, tenderly brushing his fingers against her cheek before leaving a soft kiss against it.

“I owe you both for saving me more than once tonight. Neither a gentleman nor a thief slights those that do them favors, especially ones as important as that. But this isn’t the last you’ll see of me; both you and your Miraculous Stones are dearly important to me.”

He flicked his wrist, producing one of his signature cards and laying it in Ladybug’s frozen, empty hand. “Let me know when you’re ready to play again. Courtesy of Kaito Kid.”

Kaito observed the mixture of agitation and shock that replaced Ladybug’s expression before turning and tipping his hat to Chat, who glared at him with a gaze that probably would have zapped him or something equally painful if his powers weren’t being suppressed. He strode out of the alley, walking a block before he caught sight of his unexpected saviors waiting in a car for him. Akako was still focused on keeping the Miraculous holders still, at least until they could get far enough away to not be followed. Kaito climbed into the back, removing his hat and monocle and resting his head on the seat.

“Seems like you got more than you bargained for tonight,” Hakuba teased as he drove through the Paris streets. It was amazing how much wonder these streets disguised, even just considering the fact that this car currently housed a renowned international thief, famous fledgling detective, and witch.

“I have a lot to tell you guys, but not tonight,” Kaito replied, rubbing his face. “I plan on doing nothing else but getting out of this suit and sleeping like a rock.”

“We already know quite a bit,” Akako explained. “Or enough that I knew we needed to come and rescue you. I started sensing some particularly foreboding auras not long after you went out, but I decided to consult my sources before I stopped you from running into the lead we’ve been looking for.”

Kaito sighed, shifting to press his head against the cool glass of the window. “We know the stones exist for sure now. And we know who has them. All that’s left is to earn a little trust, or get a little creative.”

“Well, you’re good at one of those things. Sometimes,” Akako replied, exhaling slowly as she was finally able to release the magic hold she’d conjured. “For now we could all use some rest. I hope you know what you’re doing, and you’re prepared to get involved with things beyond your understanding. Some of it has even started to go beyond mine.”

Kaito felt himself starting to slip into the realm of sleep, his words trailing off as he answered. “I have to do this. For myself and for people that are counting on me, whether they know it or not. And what’s wrong with getting in a little over my head? I have a feeling this experience could turn into something miraculous.”

[amuletrebel]

LOOK WHAT I FOUND! PRECIOUS 2D ART!

[queencamellia]

PV verse + Canonverse

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14027178/chapters/32306787

Deja Vu’s first chapter published!

Summary: She has forgotten something. Something important...or, perhaps, someone important.

Returning to Paris to visit her cousin, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Bridgette must retrace her past before it’s too late.

After all, Hawk Moth isn’t the only villain in Paris. And with the reappearance of the ruthless Papillon, Ladybug and Chat Noir will need all the help they can get.

(AKA: darker Miraculous Ladybug, PV verse + canon verse, Agreste bros, Quantic Kids)

[yueasuka]

I like the fact that 2d Marinette has combat skill even not transformed, because it's so different from common magical girl trope where they automatically gained combat skill when they transformed, which make them mostly vulnerable when they're in their civilian mode. Marinette 2d is strong. ᕙ( • ‿ • )ᕗ

The Kung Fu skill that she has definitely come in handy with the weaponry that she has as Ladybug (bug stick, bug blade, etc) and Felix with boxing skill certainly the main melee combatants. And I think his Black Hole and Black Strom are there to make up from his lack of weaponry. Interesting. 🤔

Oh and the fact that Chat Noir isn't actually interested to protect Paris and just want to meet/hang out with Ladybug is kinda sounds like an anti-hero and... I like that??!! I can understand why this concept can't be used for kids show though. Aside from the fact that he tried to get Ladybug to kiss him.

And it's funny how the 3d intro still carried over the "In the day time, I'm Marinette. Just a normal girl with normal life." When it is in the day time where she mostly become Ladybug, unlike in the PV/2d where she become Ladybug only in the night time. ( ╹▽╹ )

I think it'll definitely be interesting if the two meet the 3d Ladybug and Chat Noir. Into the Miraculous Verse. 😎👊

More about the 2d concept

[my-miraculous-headcanons]

Please say more about concept mlb, please

Let’s talk about the Concept Kwamis, then!

In the PV, Tikki and Plagg have different personalities, looks, and sizes from the current show. In the older concept art, however, Tikki and Plagg don’t even seem to exist. Which begs the question: are they important to the Concept AU? Should they be included? And if I do include them, just how different are they going to be from the current show and PV?

In the 2D design development of Plagg and Tikki, they have bodies that seem to encompass the idea of magical energy embodied on a physical plane. You can see their very essence trail behind them as they move, which is something I quite like a lot more than what we see in the current show. 

If I were to have these two in my concept verse, to be honest, I’d sooner have them be magical projections that blink in and out of sight whenever they wanted. Which brings me to how they’d fit in the plot and what their role is.

Tikki and Plagg, in the concept verse, aren’t guides, don’t need to eat, and don’t even need to really reveal themselves to whoever is in possession of their Miraculous. They’re quantic gods and are not permanently tethered to the Miraculous by humanity. The Miraculous instead acts like a bridge, allowing Tikki and Plagg to interact with humanity if they wish to. Instead of the Miraculous having been created by mankind in order to harness and control the power of gods, it was created by the Kwami themselves, each stone infused with their essence. 

Because seriously. The idea of humanity somehow figuring out a way to shackle gods to their every command sounds like a very self-centered power fantasy.

Plagg and Tikki are two gods who were created by the belief humanity had in the concepts of creation and destruction. Humanity’s belief in other concepts is what made the other kwami as well, although creation and destruction are the two most powerful concepts. It’s safe to say that the kwami WANT to keep humanity protected, as they are what created these gods to begin with. 

Naturally this means they will reveal themselves to the holders of their Miraculous’ if there’s a threat to humanity itself. They won’t stop those holders from doing morally deplorable things so long as the fate of humanity is protected. Many Ladybug and Chat Noirs of the past have done some pretty horrible things, like murder and terrorism. Tikki and Plagg didn’t stop them. They’re neutral forces.

Tikki and Plagg has appeared a few times in the past, but the one time that they very nearly lost a battle was the Black Plague. The two had never worked so closely with their human counterparts before. Since then, the two gods have kept a closer eye on all their human Miraculous holders over the ages. Which proved useful when the World Wars broke out and the invention of the nuclear bomb.

They’re keeping a very close eye. 

[karama9]

ML Sugar and commentary: Animaestro

So it turns out I still don’t have the kind of follow-through ability required to do one of these for every episode of season 2, even though they do all deserve it, but I wanted to quickly go through Animaestro... for pretty much the same reason this started in the first place: thanks to people tagging their salt (much appreciated btw), I can void most of it, but nobody can be expected to remember all the time, and I don’t have the tag blocked on twitter, so I still stumble upon some of it.

Which means I want to re-establish some balance!

So, right from the first scene, we get two big treats: the PV is now an actual movie in the ML verse, and we got a great Ladynoir/Marichat (it’s Marinette but she’s kind of reacting as Ladybug) moment: Marinette reacted to the movie title having Cat Noir’s name before hers, and to the idea that Ladybug couldn’t do anything without Cat Noir, and to the idea that she was afraid of cats... by protesting she was not afraid of cats.

Cat Noir gets first billing? No problem there, they’re a team, he’s just as important as she is so it doesn’t matter either way. Pushing it to saying she can’t do anything without him? No problem either. She does need him. This whole scene shows how highly she’s come to think of him and I love it. Master Fu has been clear that he sees her as the leader and he relies on her more, she knows she’s the one who purifies the akumas, she knows she’s the one who’s picked allies so far. But it doesn’t detract from the fact she sees Cat as an equal and an essential ally. She’s not just saying that when he asks her whether he can be replaced, she means it from the bottom of her heart and this one little line in this one little scene proves it.

(On a lighter note, is her supposed fear of cats going to be a joke when she uses the mouse miraculous?)

Kagami scaring away Chloe was very cathartic. I really like Kagami as a character... she’d be too overbearing for me to enjoy her company in real life, but she’s a wonderful example of strength and confidence. And I really want to know what her Mom and Gabriel are up to! 

Adrien being a perfect little gentleman but being nervous enough to not think of just brushing the crumbs off the chair was touching. I don’t think it’s out of feelings for Kagami... it’s about expectations. Must. Be. Perfect. Eep! Dirty Chair! No, no, not acceptable! Adrien.exe has stopped working.

And speaking of dirty chair... how do we all feel about Marinette teaming up with Chloe to, basically, attempt to embarrass Kagami and drive Adrien away from her? I’ve seen some salt (as I mentioned above) and I know many fans feels like the girls are being made to act petty more than the guys and that it’s not cool.

I disagree. Yes, Marinette and Chloe are misbehaving here. Yes, it was a bad idea. And yes, it was out of the fear of losing Adrien, so, over a love interest. The part I disagree with is the idea that the show keeps showing girls being mean to each other over crushes while all the guys are cool as cucumbers and do not act out because they’re in love.

The main villain is terrorizing Paris and willing to hurt as many people as it takes to get his love back. Andre Bourgeois does whatever it takes to secure the love of his wife and daughter. Cat Noir lies about his relationship with Ladybug to chase away a potential rival. Theo gets akumatized because he’s jealous. Nino chooses to stay with Alya in Zombizou rather than continue to try and help Ladybug solve the crisis. Ivan’s insecurities over his crush for Mylene led to StoneHeart. Kim decided that if he couldn’t have Chloe, nobody could have love.

It’s all romantic, and of course I don’t think Ivan, Kim or Nino are bad people, I most certainly don’t, but it’s all guys putting their love above everyone else’s interest. A lot of it is a big step above pranking your rival.

It’s also a theme. The show is all about emotions potentially leading to bad actions, and over and over again, we see that even love can be the catalyst. Did I mention the MAIN VILLAIN is acting out of love? And it’s not excused. It’s just a fact. That’s his motivation, and he chose to allow it to make him Hawkmoth and he chooses to hurt people for it.

Remember Star Wars? The Jedi are supposed to deny themselves romantic entanglement because love leads to fear, and fear leads to hate, and hate leads to the dark side? This is literally what’s happening in this show. Repeatedly. I’m not saying Thomas is taking inspiration from Star Wars, they’re both just drawing from the same idea that strong emotions can impair judgement and can also induce selfishness. It’s human nature. 

And Marinette is not immune. Never has been. She’s been irrational about Adrien since day 1. Her and her friends pranked Gorilla to try and get a date, and also caused trouble for Roger by getting him involved. And this time, the stakes were artificially inflated because Marinette didn’t act out of fear Adrien might get closer to Kagami or just out of the desire to get closer to him - thanks to her famously overactive imagination and Chloe feeding into it, she convinced herself she might lose Adrien forever through his moving away. 

Love led to fear, which led to desperate actions. 

Now I actually like that this happened, because in the long run, when Marinette finds out what Hawkmoth is after, it’s going to hit very close to home. She’ll relate. She knows what it’s like to love someone so much that being with them suddenly justifies things nothing else would. She’ll either be conflicted on whether or not he’s all that bad after all, or she’ll realize she sinned too and learn to control her own emotions better. Quite possibly both.

And it’s not just the girls being like that. The guys are too and much more dramatically. So I don’t feel like it’s the girls being badly written. They’re written realistically, with love making them lose sight of the bigger picture. 

So between the fun moments, the awesome akuma (seriously, how cool were those 2D transformations and references?? Very cool, that’s how cool), and Marinette struggling with her heart and getting not akumatized but led astray by her emotions and fears, I really enjoyed this episode.

And if someone tells you Marinette is written as doing bad things because she’s a girl and that it’s sexist writing, please remember that Gabriel Agreste, a man, is not putting cakes on chairs: he’s turning people into monsters and letting them try and destroy the city and hurt and/or kill people. With the hope that Ladybug will NOT be able to stop them, so it’s not like he knows it will all be reversed anyway. And if you need a non super villain example, Mayor Bourgeois is constantly committing injustice out of love for his family. He’s also a man. Both act much worse than Marinette ever did and they don’t have the excuse of still being a kid who also happens to live under more stress than average.

[breeeliss]

I saw your Voltron ask, any tips for getting into Miraculous Ladybug?

Miraculous Ladybug is produced by Zagtoon and Method Animation and was created by Thomas Astruc. It was originally aired in France but you can also find dubs in English, Spanish, Korean, etc. 

Thomas Astruc is a generally cool dude. He’s on Twitter. He doesn’t like talking about spoilers. 

Jeremy Zag is the CEO of Zagtoon. He’s also on Twitter. He LOVES talking about spoilers. 

It’s universally understood by fandom that Jeremy Zag doesn’t know how the hell to run an animation company. Their marketing sucks. They pushed back the Season 2 of ML like four times. Their merch store is sucky and overpriced. They make promises they can’t keep. They’re the animation company equivalent of a fuckboy. We’re all really bummed about it. 

Before ML was CGI Animated, it was going to be 2D animated with a darker story and slightly different character designs (fans call it the PV verse). But Thomas decided it was too hard to 2D animate Ladybug’s spots and that the main male character was too much of an asshole. So he scrapped it and went with what we have now. 

Season 1 of ML is completely out and really good. I personally think the French Dub is the best and blogs like @miraculousubs have all the episodes subtitled in English for your convenience. 

English Dub is okay. It’s all on Netflix which is cool but the dumbasses threw it up there in a weird order. I always recommend watching in the order of the original French airdates (which you can find here). 

We don’t talk about the Christmas Special episode. That episode never happened. 

Oh, and there’s a webisode series and some comics too I guess. 

The Lovesquare is gonna frustrate the fuck out of you when you start watching. You’re going to think Adrien and Marinette are idiots. You’re going to think “how the hell do they not recognize each other in and out of costume?” You will not be alone with these thoughts. Suffer with the rest of us. Misery loves company. 

Season 2 is starting to come out now. Very very very very slowly. 

No one knows the airing schedule for Season 2 in any of the countries. Anyone who tells you they do is a liar. You have to stay up until 3AM on Sundays and wait in fear hoping that the episode being aired in France isn’t a rerun.

It’s always good to blacklist spoilers for Miraculous Ladybug if you’re an avid Tumblr user. There’s usually a 2-3 day delay from when an episode airs in another language until the episode is properly subbed over. In that time you’ll definitely be seeing gifs and edits of the new ep, so if you’re the type that doesn’t like being spoiled, blacklist is your friend. 

You might be asking, “When does the English Dub of Season 2 come out?” We don’t know. No one knows. Not even Zag Animation knows. They changed the airing date like four times. At this point it’s like waiting for a cryptid to appear. The future is bleak. 

BUT HEY! There’s lots of good art. And a lot of good fanfiction. That should tide you over. 

We’re all about tropes here. Reveal tropes? Check. Chat Noir visiting Marinette on her balcony? Check. Ladybug and Chat Noir going on patrols? Check. Are they overdone? Maybe. Do we care? No. Should you care? Also no. Give it time. You’ll be a slut for them just like we all are. 

The Lovesquare comprises about 70% of all fandom content. But fear not! We got rarepairs too! Some Marinette and Alya. Some Adrien and Nino. Some Chloe and Nathanael. We gotchu. 

Compared to other fandoms on this site, this one’s pretty chill. Not too much drama. Just be nice to other people and don’t shit on their ships. Have fun. Also tag your spoilers. 

[yujachachacha]

Nope.. nope.. nopee.. if fairness is the cause of You being sidelined, i can't accept that.. every midpoll that show You being no.1 in that poll, everyone seems like united to bring her down.. if that bcs of fairness, why they vote yoshiko again (like in sif poll) not the other member that never get elected and she's still get more screen time in the anime... fck that!

Whoa there.

I’m a You fan too, so I’d also love it if You got more screen time. It’s all right to be disgruntled about it, but I still think that You being sidelined is at least understandable. I also think there are perfectly valid explanations as to why Yoshiko gets so much attention.

In fact, if you take a closer look at the polls, Yoshiko doesn’t have as many major “wins” as You does.

Look at what I said before: Yoshiko shows up more because she’s a character that needs more growth and development. As you can see in S2E11, Yoshiko still struggles with the fact that she’s not exactly a popular gal (within the anime-verse, not in real life lol). We get that nice little scene with Riko and Maru at the fortune-telling tent because it shows that Yoshiko has friends at her side who support her when she’s down. The audience needs to be told that there’s nothing to worry about - even though Yoshiko’s still kind of a hot mess, she’s working on it with the help of her friends.

I think part of the reason why so many people flock to Yoshiko is that they feel a bit of pity for her. She’s always plagued by misfortune, whether it’s being caught in the rain at inopportune moments, or missing her middle school trip due to catching the flu (see Question #6 in her Q&A section). You, on the other hand, is a popular girl who is well-liked by everyone and quite successful at almost everything she does. If You is already popular in the 2D world and Yoshiko isn’t, why not make it “fair” and give Yoshiko some well-deserved recognition in the 3D world?

As for Yoshiko’s screen time, well…it does certainly help that Yoshiko is a popular character and great for comic relief. Again, like I said before, You is more of a stabilizing force in the group (apart from moments like the being-crushed-by-Maru running gag in the Hakodate episode). She’s there for moments like Chika’s late-night MIRACLE WAVE practice, and for keeping Chika grounded when the mikan-loving leader gets panicked about the school closing down.

I think the fact that You doesn’t show up too often gives these moments more value. When You tells Chika that she’s always wanted to do something with Chika and will always be there for her in S2E11, it’s a very crucial scene. This is something that she’s said before, in S1E1 (when she tells Chika that she’ll join the school idol club) and in S1E11 (in her conversations with Mari and Riko). We don’t see her say it again until S2E11 because You is, at her core, a very private person when it comes to her feelings.

In S1E1, when she briefly showed a sentimental side of herself to Chika, You was quick to wave aside the moment with a giggle and cheerfully hand over a club application; in S1E11, You doesn’t talk about what’s bothering her until Mari directly confronts her about it; in S2E11, You checks to make sure she’s alone before re-enacting the club recruitment calls. We don’t really need to see You declaring her support for Chika too often because we know that she’s the first member who joined Aqours and the most dependable person in the group. When You does say her feelings out loud, however, it’s at moments when You is so full of emotion that she can’t hold herself back. That’s how heartfelt these declarations are.

Is it frustrating that we don’t get more cute and funny filler scenes from You? Sure. But the scenes we do get are pivotal - You rushing to hug Chika after their all-nighter at the deadline for saving the school speaks volumes about how well she knows Chika, and how much she cares for her best friend’s well-being.

I’m getting a bit off-topic here though. Let’s go back to the subject you brought up: the polls. Here are the results of the polls that have been done so far, roughly in chronological order of when the results were revealed; I’ll only be listing the top three for each:

2nd center election (KoiAqua): Midpoll = You / Ruby / Riko; Final = You / Ruby / Riko

Numazu Gamers poster girl: Midpoll = You / Yoshiko / Hanamaru; Final = Yoshiko / You / Hanamaru

Dengeki G’s cover girl: Midpoll = Hanamaru / Yoshiko / You; Final = Hanamaru / You / Chika (Note: Voters had to pick both a girl and a date spot, so some girls showed up multiple times in the final rankings, e.g. You + Date Spot 1 followed by You + Date Spot 2)

7-11 image girl: Midpoll = You / Riko / Hanamaru; Final = Riko / You / Hanamaru

3rd center election (HPT): Midpoll = Yoshiko / Kanan / Hanamaru; Final = Kanan / Yoshiko / Hanamaru

SIF Winter Promo UR (Snowboarding You): Midpoll = Hanamaru / You / Kanan; Final = You / Hanamaru / Kanan

Uraraji hosts (GuuRinPa): Midpoll = Yoshiko / Dia / Kanan; Final = Yoshiko / Dia / Chika (Note: Chika was in 4th place in the midpoll results)

Sega image girl: Midpoll = You / Chika / Hanamaru; Final = Hanamaru / Chika / Yoshiko

LisAni cover girl: You / Kanan / Chika (Note: AFAIK midpoll results weren’t released)

SIF 5th anniversary campaign girl: Midpoll = You / Riko / Yoshiko; Final = Yoshiko / Mari / Riko

I might have missed one or two, but these are all the polls I can recall at the moment. Using these results, here’s how many times each girl has won an election:

3 times = You, Yoshiko

2 times = Hanamaru

1 time = Riko, Kanan, Dia, Chika

0 (*Chika voice* It’s so frustrating!) = Ruby, Mari

Just based on the final results, you can guess that You, Yoshiko, and Maru are the most popular girls, with Ruby and Mari being near the bottom. And yes, with these numbers, it does seem that Yoshiko is abnormally popular. However, when you take some additional factors into account, Yoshiko’s ranking actually drops below You’s.

Here’s what you need to consider: why did a certain girl win a poll? And how much weight should you give that poll?

While the elections and polls do indicate a character’s popularity level, they only do so to a certain extent. You topped out polls very often in the early days, with her crowning moment being the KoiAqua center election. Winning a center election, especially at such an early stage for Aqours, is a really big deal.

Recall that when KoiAqua was released, the anime hadn’t aired yet, so many of the characters lacked substantial depth. In fact, the KoiAqua audio dramas provided the most character development at that point, as it established things such as: (1) You knowing when to hold Chika back to prevent poor Riko from going insane, (2) Kanan and Mari being chill while Dia stresses out in the background, and (3) Hanamaru getting along surprisingly well with Yoshiko’s fallen angel antics while also doting on Ruby. Our favorite yousoro kid provided the most interesting character profile at the time (Anchan once mentioned how “yousoro~” was already popular with crowds back in 2015 when they were promoting the KimiKoko album), and established herself as a popular character from very early on in the history of LLS.

To make it fair for others to get their chance in the spotlight, most people opted to vote for other characters in later polls. Even as a You fan myself, I didn’t vote for You in the 3rd single center election (for HAPPY PARTY TRAIN), and wasn’t really rooting for her in subsequent elections either. Poll results tend to be skewed because people want the distribution of wins to be “fair”. Chika and Riko don’t score too well in center elections because they had “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?”, and You slipped down to around 5th place for the 3rd center election. This doesn’t mean they got less popular - it just means that the votes are going to other characters that deserve a shot at winning.

A center election is kind of like the ultimate prize - the character gets to have the main solo of a song, and be the star of an animated PV. Center elections have been a key part of the LL history ever since the inception of µ’s. These songs are “the story we realize together” as fans can influence what they want to see in the next single. Everyone knows that You is the center of KoiAqua, as it’s a major part of LLS history and is guaranteed multiple performances in live concerts. How many LL fans can you say will remember who the 7-11 image girl is in a year or two? Like, if I had to assign each poll a score of how important it is from 1 to 5, I’d probably give something like the LisAni cover girl a 1, the Sega cover girl a 2, and the center election a 10. Yes, you read that correctly. With how crucial music is to Love Live, you can’t really say that winning the rights to a limited-time figurine or one-time illustration tops a center election win. 

Because You won a major election, that does incentivize people to not vote for her in these polls. However, I think it speaks to You’s popularity that she gets 1st place in nearly every midpoll result despite this. Her ultimately failing to get 1st place at the end of the poll is less of an effort by others to “bring her down”, and more of a push to “raise others up”. Before the midpoll results come out, most people tend to vote haphazardly. After the results come out, people usually choose someone within the top three (as those girls have a better chance at winning) to support and then vote in a more organized manner. That’s how Suwawa and Aikyan ended up in an aggressive Twitter campaign for their girls during the HPT center election - Yoshiko was shown as 1st place while Kanan was 2nd in the midpoll results. The fact that You is nearly always in 1st place before this targeted voting begins is a sure sign that she’s generally popular overall.

It’s not like You never won a poll after the KoiAqua election, either - she won the SIF promo UR election last year, plus she became the LisAni cover girl earlier this year. Granted, the LisAni girl appeals were done while Season 1 was airing, and were made by the seiyuu to boot (so this might be a case of Shukashuu’s popularity helping out), but the fact still remains that it’s You who graced the cover of LisAni Vol. 29 back in May.

Now, what about Yoshiko winning the SIF Anniversary election? Since she already had two wins under her belt, wouldn’t it seem fair to give it to someone like Mari or Ruby?

First off, I did say that these polls aren’t necessarily a popularity contest, but that doesn’t mean that popularity has no effect on the results. The SIF 5th Anniversary Election was a unique poll because unlike other recent polls, it was literally a popularity contest (with a touch of nostalgia, as evidenced by Nico getting first place for µ’s). That meant that people would cast aside whose “turn” it was to win something, as they’d simply be voting for the campaign girl of their choice.

You also have to remember that this poll was a lot more well-known to the global community than other (non-center election) LLS polls due to it being SIF-based and involving all three LL generations. Like, I was actually surprised that Mari scored 2nd place for Aqours in the final tally because she’s not that popular in Japan. However, Mari does enjoy a lot of popularity in the English-speaking community, so I suspect that might have played a role in her final rank. The fact that Mari has yet to win anything might have boosted support for her as well.

As for Ruby - well, I predict that because of the Hakodate arc, we’re going to see a lot more love for Ruby in future polls. I’ve already heard stories of people going to shops and finding that prices for Ruby merchandise have started going up. But because those episodes started airing right as the poll was ending (S2E8 first aired on November 25, and the poll closed on November 26), Ruby was still suffering from relative unpopularity at the time. So, although it would have been nice for either Mari or Ruby to win, they simply didn’t have the numbers to support them.

I think that Yoshiko won the SIF election, and deserved to win, for two reasons: (1) Yoshiko is legitimately a popular character, and (2) Yoshiko hadn’t really won a major popularity contest before this.

Let me explain the second point. Recall that earlier in this post, I asked, “why did a certain girl win a poll? And how much weight should you give that poll?” I answered the second question, but didn’t fully address the first. What the first question amounts to is that if you look at Yoshiko’s two other wins, they were given to her for a specific reason rather than out of popularity.

We can illustrate this with another poll result. Hanamaru was 3rd place in the Sega image girl midpoll results, but ended up first place. If we consider the fact that people have a tendency to avoid voting for You because of KoiAqua, then why not vote for poor Chika instead, who’s never done well in polls? Well, in Hanamaru’s focus episode, she became strongly associated with Rin due to their shared self-consciousness about their femininity. Guess who the Sega image girl for µ’s was?

If it wasn’t obvious, then yes, Rin was the former Sega image girl.

So was this poll really an indication of popularity/fairness, or more like people voting for whoever they thought was the “rightful” winner of a certain prize?

A more famous example is the 3rd center election. This is a story that many people probably know by now, but I’ll tell it just in case: Kanan ranked last place in the 2nd center election, and had been in the bottom ranks for other polls before. The 3rd center election happened to start after S1 aired, and everyone was feeling particularly sensitive about how much Kanan had suffered (both in the anime sense during the Mijuku DREAMER episode, and in the meta sense for not getting a lot of lines initially in S1). People were insanely emotional about Kanan being able to go from the neglected character to the adored, beautiful star of the next major Aqours album, and celebrated triumphantly when it turned out that she actually won the election.

What’s important to remember with these “rightful” wins is that they have no bearing on whether it was that character’s “turn” to win - because if that win should have been given to the character in the first place, why should it count? (Song center elections are an exception to these wins not counting as a “turn”, which should hopefully be obvious by now after my explanation of their importance in LL.)

With that in mind, let’s look at Yoshiko’s first win - the Numazu Gamers election. Yoshiko was perceived as the “rightful” winner of that one because she was the Aqours member who had Numazu featured prominently in her character profile. You does also live in the area, but IIRC this fact was never established until the anime started airing. In addition, Yoshiko is described as an avid fan of gaming - and who better to represent a Gamers store than a gamer herself? Yoshiko did really deserve to win this one.

Now, how about the Uraraji poll? I’m gonna be honest here - I consider this more of a seiyuu poll than a character poll. Because Uraraji is hosted by the seiyuu, the voting for the hosts was really done with the seiyuu in mind. Kanan probably performed well in the midpoll results at first because Suwawa has such a calming radio voice, but ultimately most folks decided that someone else should have a chance to be a radio host. Ainya and Suwawa already have radio shows, and Kinchan has a regular gaming stream, so they were probably set aside for that reason. As entertaining as Shukashuu, Furirin, and Rikyako are, they’re kind of erratic on air and prone to wild behavior (LOL sorry guys).

Anchan was the first host of Uraraji, and has proven herself to be a capable leader of Aqours. She’s also hosted her own radio show before, so it’s likely that she was voted as a safe choice. Arisha, despite her busy schedule, was probably voted in as a combination of (1) being able to keep everyone in line during the show and (2) people wanting Dia to get some love in the polls.

So, what about Yoshiko/Aikyan?

All right, now here’s something I personally remember from Twitter at the time - the Uraraji election was done after Kanan was crowned the winner of the 3rd single election. When Aikyan found out that Yoshiko had slipped from 1st place to 2nd place, she posted an absolutely heartbreaking message about it. I’m too lazy to look for the original tweet, sorry…but roughly, she said something along the lines of it being frustrating to have been so close to winning, despite all the work she put into campaigning for Yoshiko (seriously, Aikyan and Suwawa were spamming tweets every day towards the end of the 3rd center election, going as far as snapping cute selfies to entice people to vote for their character). She vowed that the 4th center election would be her time to be victorious (as 4 is a number associated with death in Asia; quite fitting for a little demon).

(In fact, while it seems like Hanamaru is on most people’s minds for the 4th election - or at least that’s what I’ve seen on social media - I’ve already decided to vote for Yoshiko on behalf of Aikyan. )

I don’t remember where the idea spawned, but I did see a lot of talk afterwards about giving Yoshiko the #1 spot in the Uraraji poll to sort of “make up” for the 3rd center election loss (and also safeguard against Aikyan possibly getting crushed again if Yoshiko happened to not stay within the top 3). Granted, Yoshiko had already been doing pretty well in the poll, but the number of people pledging support for her grew exponentially during this time. Thus, even if you ignore the fact that the Uraraji election was more of a win for Aikyan than Yoshiko, it also happened to be a consolation prize. :\

So with that, we have You with two popularity contest wins under her belt (SIF promo UR poll and LisAni girl) plus a center election win (which alone probably counts as winning, like, 5 polls lol). Yoshiko has one (the SIF Anniversary poll), plus two wins that were sort of given to her. I think it’s safe to say that it seems pretty “fair” for poor Yoshiko to get some love.

In the end, you are allowed to be mad about You not getting more screen time. Does it seem unfair that she’s not winning more polls or getting more screen time? A little, yeah. But the fact remains that she’s a bit too popular for her own good, and she already won a major election (KoiAqua). It’d actually be unfair if You got to have a center song under her belt plus a lot of screen time plus more poll victories. When you take certain factors into consideration, the SIF Anniversary poll is really Yoshiko’s only legitimate popularity vote win. Please don’t abuse the poor fallen angel - she already goes through enough;;

And as a final note: honestly, I don’t really think the polls have too much impact on the anime. It’s already established that the anime-verse is separate from other branches of the series (e.g. Dia not being a school idol fan in the SIF stories, Kanan being the first one to join Aqours in the manga, Maru’s childhood friend being Ruby rather than Yoshiko in the SIDs). Necessities of plot and character growth are what mostly make up screen time. Why would the fact that one of the girls got to be a Sega image girl or a SIF campaign girl have anything to do with this…?

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

Peaceful Sounds and Flower Crowns

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2tDY5FI

by ClaireKat

Felix and Bridgette agree to spend a summer afternoon studying together, but Bridgette gets a little distracted.

Words: 1496, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Bridgette (Miraculous Ladybug), Bridgette Cheng, Felix Agreste, Félix (Miraculous Ladybug)

Relationships: Bridgette & Félix (Miraculous Ladybug), Bridgette/Félix (Miraculous Ladybug), lucky charm - Relationship

Additional Tags: One Shot, Gift Fic, sort of, fic based on art, Fluff, post pv reveal, Miraculous Ladybug PV, 2D pv verse

July 09, 2017 at 05:01PM read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2tDY5FI

[animeladybug]

Collection of all the early/2d style pics of the super-teens that inhabit the PV/Quantic Verse

The Miraculous Ladybug

Chat Noir

Kid Mime

Melodie

Mercury

Sparrow

Queen Bee

Gavroche

[clairekatswritingcorner]

Kaito Kid’s Miraculous Night

Part One

Part Two

Word Count: 2,696

Summary: Kaito Kuroba has been searching for the Pandora gem ever since he discovered it’s possible existence and implication in his father’s death. Upon learning some rumors from his friend Akako about gems that grant people mystical and transformative powers, known as Miraculous Stones, he decides that it’s his duty to go to Paris and investigate. Tagging along with Hakuba, who happened to be going anyway due to a case, Kaito hopes that what little information he’s been able to glean is enough of a lead to help him hunt down the most interesting gems he’s had the opportunity to target yet.

Author’s Note: This piece is an intro of sorts for an AU started by @edorazzi and I connecting the Magic Kaito and Miraculous Ladybug (PV) universes. There are some examples of ideas Josie’s drawn on her blog (which I encourage you to check out), and this was my own interpretation of a possible first encounter between Kaito Kid and the Miraculous Holders. This seems like a beginning to something, and that’s because in terms of the AU it is, but I have no idea if I’ll ever have the energy or the inspiration to plan out a full fic. (ーー;) Either way, I put a lot of work into this piece and I really hope people enjoy it.

(both parts also available on my Ao3 account, found on my blog links)

Moonlight illuminated the inky Parisian sky. Stars twinkled alongside its gentle glow, complementing the radiant city lights. A lone figure clothed in striking white perched on the edge of a building, surveying the tranquil scene. He tipped his hat backwards and exhaled softly, smiling at the moon. In a way he had come to revere its alleviating light and quiet watchfulness considering it had been his silent companion in so many ways. His location wasn’t anything special, and although there were some who would argue he wasn’t either, there was evidence to contradict that. He contemplated his next move, turning from the moon to the city. A passing breeze billowed his cape as he adjusted his monocle and leaned forward, squinting  at some of the signs and buildings close enough for him to examine.

“This is pointless,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a seat on the building’s edge. “Akako said they liked to show up on rooftops, so here I am! I’m starting to think they really are urban legends.”

He kicked his feet, eyes straying back to the sky. “I have more important things to do, like investigating jewels!”

Only the buzz of the city replied to his disgruntled monologue, and Kaito flopped onto his back, resting his hat and hands on his stomach. He was tired, confused, agitated, and a little hungry. This was the fifth consecutive night he had stayed up to traverse the city in the hope of finding any trace of the alleged Miraculous Holders. According to Akako, they were people of dubious name and even more dubious existence who were able to utilize the power of magical gems to defend Paris from abnormal threats.

The idea of magical gems that granted people powers sealed Kaito’s decision to nag Hakuba into taking him along on his trip to Paris. Akako and Aoko had already been invited, unbeknownst to Kaito, and after the initial bitterness at being passively left off the trip’s guest list, he transitioned full force into preparing for what might be found abroad. With Akako and Hakuba at his disposal, he hoped to go into the situation with about as much information as usual. Aoko was equally likely, even if she wasn’t in on the secret, to be a capable information gatherer and keen civilian surveyor, someone who would notice the one thing everyone else overlooked.

Kaito had been fired up, ready to tackle an international clue that had the potential to wrap up at least a part of his most outstanding problems. He never planned to stop with just shattering the gem, intent on getting to the bottom of what actually happened to his father. Knocking the Pandora gem out of the equation might stir up enough trouble to get the bigwigs behind that morbid task out of the woodwork and remove Kaito’s most significant distraction when dealing with them.

He did feel a small pang in his heart at the idea that by the end of this trip, his career as Kaito Kid might be over. He had come so far and accomplished so much as Kid. He’d had so many adventures, met so many people, made so many memories. Taking up his father’s mantle had also helped him remain close to him in a way that Kaito wasn’t sure he could replace with anything else. There was a part of him that would sorely miss all of the things that being Kaito Kid allowed him to do, as well as how it made him feel. But all of that could be dealt with after he completed his main objective, and right now his leads had practically gone cold.

“Why can’t Akako just gaze into her crystal ball and find out their location or something?” he lamented, twirling his hat with his hands. “I bet she’s holding out on me, there’s something she’s not telling me. Would it be worth it to interrogate her? She’d probably get defensive…”

He sat up, resituating his hat. “Welp, I’ve still got a few more hours. Might as well retrace my steps.”

It was his only idea, and he suspected it would prove fruitless. His biggest problem wasn’t not knowing where they were, it was not knowing where it would be best to wait for them. If these people really had otherworldly powers like Akako said, for all Kaito knew they were actively avoiding him, laughing as he ran around in circles. He wasn’t the type to quit when faced with a difficult challenge, and he also wasn’t the type to go into a situation blind. He hated playing the waiting game, relying on chance, hoping that things would just come to a head in exactly the way he needed them to. It wasn’t his work ethic and, frankly, it wasn’t his style.

As though the universe had finally started listening to his mental and verbal distaste, an unusual light and crashing sounds started making a commotion a few alleys over. Kaito lept to his feet, gliding across the next few buildings before peering down to examine the unexpected scene. A fight had broken out, and it wasn’t the typical back alley brawl one might expect. Two people clad in outfits almost as peculiar as Kaito’s were bouncing around the alley like frogs, hopping and cartwheeling and ricocheting off walls in an attempt to dodge the attacks from their opponent. They, too, were strangely dressed and wearing what looked to be face paint, swinging their hands around and throwing invisible objects that appeared to actually have an affect on the physical plane.

Kaito tripped backwards, barely managing to escape the invisible object that whizzed past him into the sky. He had registered the air movement as it passed, and it’s startling explosion above him proved that there was definitely something going on beyond his comprehension. Before he could celebrate stumbling upon this unexpected jackpot, the figures from the alley made their way to the rooftops, two of them landing on the one he was standing on while the other landed opposite.

“You’re not going to get away this time!” a feminine voice barked, followed by the form of someone who looked to be wearing a ladybug themed jumpsuit. She lunged at the burly yet finely dressed person before her, their face painted in a style Kaito didn’t immediately recognize.

This opponent remained silent and knocked the girl back with what appeared to be nothing, although the force with which she was thrown and the impact indicated that she had been struck by something. Kaito rushed to her side, attempting to ensure the blow hadn’t knocked her out, but she recovered quickly and shoved him away with a strength that made him realize just how evenly matched she and her opponent were. She resumed her fighting stance before the expression on her face shifted to one of confusion, properly registering Kaito’s presence.

“What in the…who are you? What are you doing up here?”

Kaito opened his mouth to respond, but the air was knocked out of his lungs as the girl tackled him to the ground. He tried to lift his head, his vision dizzy as he realized she had seemingly saved him from another invisible blow. A black streak slashed through the stars for a moment, and Kaito chalked it up to just another side effect of the sudden impact. Regaining his composure, his expression shifted into a flirtatious smirk at his savior, his sarcastic side getting the best of him before she used his face to shove herself back to her feet.

Kaito could sense she was eager to ask more questions, but the man she was currently engaged in battle with was formidable enough to require all of her attention. Kaito stood and adjusted his gloves, realizing on closer inspection that the man with the strange face paint was actually dressed as a mime. A mime who could materialize real weapons from just his movement, apparently. That was a level of supernatural mayhem Kaito hadn’t expected to come across in his search for the mysterious Miraculous Stones.

His contemplation was interrupted again as the mime launched another attack that Kaito barely dodged, his senses finally adjusting to the situation. He pulled his card gun from its holster, firing a few shots past the mime’s eyes to create just enough of a distraction that the girl was able to kick his feet out from under him. She took a few steps back herself, panting as she shot Kaito a confused look, clearly unsure of whether this gesture was enough to determine whether he was friend or foe. The fact that she didn’t immediately turn on him at least meant that in some capacity she was grateful.

“I’ll ask you again, who are you? And how did you get up here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Mademoiselle,” the words felt interesting, smoothly rolling off his tongue. “It appears you have just as much explaining to do as I.”

The mime was seemingly incapacitated for the moment, and Kaito wondered if she had struck him with something similarly unseen to paralyze him. He took a hesitant step forward, reminding himself to not make the mistake of portraying just how anxious or confused he really was. The girl remained still, her fists still clenched and her knees still bent should she need to strike at a moment’s notice. She did seem to give off both the look and the vibe of a flamboyant vigilante or wannabe superhero, but until he knew what her connection or knowledge of the Miraculous Stones was, or really anything more about the situation, he couldn’t be too hasty.

“I asked first, and you’re not in any position to be bargaining with me,” she replied stiffly, and before Kaito could blink something knocked the card gun from his hand. He glanced at his stinging palm before returning his gaze to the girl, her stance still guarded as she absently twirled the yoyo she had used to disarm him. “I’m not too keen on getting civilians involved in my work, and I’m even less keen on letting them get away after seeing too much.”

“What are you gonna do, hypnotize me?” he replied, eyeing the toy that he was beginning to understand was a much more formidable tool than it appeared. “I promise, Mademoiselle, I mean no harm. And I’m nothing like your typical civilian.”

“So what business do you have wandering around the rooftops dressed like a snowcone?” she persisted, tucking the yoyo in her hip pouch. “Just because you’re not typical doesn’t mean you have any right to be involved.”

“I’m in the middle of an investigation,” he explained, deciding that giving her part of the truth might help ease the tension. “You might even be able to help me out. I’m a purveyor of fine jewels and unusual artifacts. I’ve been told that there are objects in this city fitting both descriptions that have piqued my interest.”

Her fists tightened at his words, and he stopped his advance towards her. “Please, you don’t have to get defensive. I’m not in league with whoever that man attacking you was. To be honest I have no idea what kind of situation I just stumbled on or who you or anyone else is. But if you know anything about those gems…the Miraculous Stones…I would be very grateful to hear whatever you know.”  

The girl shifted her weight, tapping a finger against her arm and hardening her gaze. After everything he had just seen and experienced, Kaito was sure that she was one of the people he needed to find. He had to exercise every ounce of control and finesse that he had to ensure that she didn’t dart away and return him to his cold, blank trail.

“You want to know about the Miraculous Stones…why?”

She did have some sort of information about them then…this was going to be a difficult conversation to navigate.

“Because I’m not the only one looking for them, and I want to secure them before people with bigger and badder plans than me can.” Maybe playing the ‘I’m one of the good guys, just like you’ cards would be enough to sway her judgement. “I’ve been scouting the city for a few days now, trying to find some trace of them. There isn’t a lot of time, and after what you’ve just been through, I’d say you understand where I’m coming from almost better than me.”

The girl swept her eyes up and down him, taking a step closer, though not enough that he could reach her with an arm or leg. She brushed some of her dark hair behind her ear, revealing an earring, no, a dazzling red and black stone that shined with and otherworldly scarlet glow. Kaito felt his chest tighten as he swallowed, trying to conceal the trembling in his hands. His gaze locked onto the object that had spurred him to come to Paris, the object that could possibly be the key to unlocking not only the truth of his father’s death, but also the secret to immortality, a burden that he would cradle in and summarily shatter with his own hands.

“The Miraculous Stones are safe with their holders, and none of us are interested in passing them off to some obvious Lupin wannabe,” the girl scoffed, her gentle and soothing tone contradicting the searing edge of her remarks. “If you came to Paris to steal some gems and spark some sort of publicity grabbing controversy, your journey ends here.”

Kaito was only really paying attention to half of her words, his feet subconsciously carrying him forward as he became enchantingly overcome with hope. He had seen and held so many precious and unique jewels in his hands, peering into their empty and disappointing cores with the help of the moon that still shone like a spotlight over them now. Never had he felt so close to his goal, however, considering the magic he had just witnessed with his own two eyes. He had observed gems with magical and hidden properties before, but never ones that radiated such a stunning red glow, and never ones that had actually granted their owner supernatural powers.

He knelt before her and gracefully clasped one of her hands, pressing his lips to the back in a reflexive gesture. “Mademoiselle, although they cannot compare to the radiance of your visage, I would be honored if you would allow me to borrow the dazzling gems decorating your ears.”

The girl giggled, slipping her hand out of his grasp and re-crossing her arms, albeit this time in a much more amused manner. “You really think that’s all it takes to get your hands on these? Are you sure you aren’t new to this?”

Aside from being stunningly insulted, Kaito was at a loss for how to respond. He couldn’t remember the last time his charms hadn’t worked on someone, and in the panic of being this close to the stones that had a high likelihood of being the Pandora he had spent so many months and heists pining for, he was having trouble processing what his next move should be. He cleared his throat, giving an amused chuckle in return as he rose to his feet.

“I was under the impression we had some sort of understanding, since you were kind enough to admit that you do have the stones in your possession.” He stretched out his arm, caressing her cheek with his fingers as his eyes remained pinned on the gems glowing on her ears. “What would it take for you to allow me to examine them more closely?”

The girl’s blue eyes were unreadable and deep. He could tell from her expression that she was slightly unsettled, but still firm in her decision to keep her distance from him. That was alright, just a little more persuasion, or just the right shock, and he could swipe the gems from her ears no problem. He had especially quick hands after all. He closed his eyes, his palm nestling her cheek as he inched his face towards hers.

[recentanimenews]

Meet the Staff and Cast of Juni Taisen

“Welcome, Warriors… Now that we are all present, we shall begin the Twelfth Juni Taisen!”

The mysterious referee Duedecuple commences the Twelfth Zodiac War, a battle held every Twelve Years in which Twelve Warriors battle to the death. The sole survivor, who collects the Twelve black gems from their fallen opponents, will be granted anything they wish.

Juni Taisen: Zodiac War is one of the most anticipated titles of the Fall season, a grand battle royale featuring bizarre characters each taking on the persona of the Chinese zodiac. The previews that have become available so far promise some over-the-top characters and extreme violence, but taking a look at the impressive names and organizations working behind the project show its promise as one of the anime competing for best of the year. Let’s take a look at the staff of Juni Taisen!

  The Staff

Juni Taisen is an adaptation of a one-shot original novel by NisiOisiN, author of the acclaimed Monogatari series adapted by studio SHAFT. He’s known for outlandish characters and a pervading sense of mystery in his works, which definitely fits the bill for Juni Taisen. Another part of his reputation is defying genre conventions, so we can expect there's more than meets the eye to this otherwise simple premise. From the previews we’ve seen so far, the series looks to explore each of the warriors motivations for taking part in the Zodiac War even as they are mercilessly killed off.

For those wanting a sneak peak, the first chapter of the manga adaptation of the light novel is available to read online for free, courtesy of VIZ Media.

The project is being directed by Hosoda Naoto, who is no stranger to oddball stories or 12-person battle royales, having directed both the The Devil is a Part-Timer and The Future Diary. The deadly combat in Juni Taisen is also in good hands, with Hosoda’s extensive experience as animation director and key animator on a number of action series including Read or Die. His specific style of animation alternates between slow and fast movement, often having characters hang in mid-air and quick, flickering bursts of speed. He also has a penchant for sending projectiles flying right at the screen.

The series composition is by Sadayuki Murai, who has an impressive resume as a writer in the anime industry. His past work includes the script for Perfect Blue and screenplay for Steam Boy, his most recent work has been with Polygon Pictures writing for the 3D anime adaptations of Tsutomu Nihei works, including the series composition for the Knights of Sidonia series and the script for the Blame! movie.

Studio Graphinica is producing Juni Taisen, which is well-versed in integrating 2D and 3D animation to create some spectacular action sequences. Their most recent major work, Chain Chronicle -Light of Haecceitas-, made use of 3D rendered fight scenes that kept a 2D feel while making use of elaborate camera pans that would be extremely difficult using 2D animation. Just last season, Studio 8-bit brought on Graphinica to assist with their 3D work in the fantasy mecha series Knight’s & Magic.

The Cast

With a cast of diverse eccentrics battling to the death, nailing the casting is a must. Graphinica brought in some recognizable voices including Hikaru Midorikawa, whose previous work includes voicing Heero Yuy in Gundam Wing and Best Jeanist in My Hero Academia, playing Uma the Horse. Niwa the Bird’s voice, Ayane Sakura, was also a mainstay of My Hero Academia voicing Ochako and is also popular for her role as Haru in Nisekoi. Cho, playing Hituji the Ram, you may recognize as Brook from One Piece. The psychotic bunny Usagi will be played by Nobuhiko Okamoto, who previously voice both Rin in Blue Exorcist and Bakugo from My Hero Academia.

  Of particular note is Yoko Hikasa, whose character Inonoshishi the Boar was the subject of her own PV, a famous seiyuu with a number of recognizable roles including Diana in Little Witch Academia, Mio from K-On!, Kou from New Game!, and Farnese in Berserk.

From inception to production to voice talent, Juni Taisen is brimming with big names and in a position to make a big splash using the newest tools of the medium to show us some great action using integrated 2D and 3D animation. NisiOisin always has some narrative tricks up his sleeve and with such a deadly premise following the show week to week may become necessity to stay ahead of spoilers. No matter who wins and who dies, it’s sure to be a surprise!

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Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll and author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com