#I read japanese way more often than I hear it so I'm having trouble

[cry-stars]

Komaeda and Dementia: Part 1 of 5: Introduction and Overview of FTD

Hi everyone!

I’m an aspiring Komaedologist with an interest in dementia. I often see people doubting Komaeda’s stated diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, since it presents differently in him than in the common portrayal of dementia in the media. While his portrayal may not be completely accurate, there is a lot of truth to it, and there are many symptoms visible in-game. I wanted to share a few posts about dementia symptoms that we do see canonically in Komaeda’s portrayals in SDR2 and DR:AE, and share some information regarding his specific diagnosis as opposed to Alzheimers, for example.

I work with people living with dementia as a recreation worker. This means that I see them living their daily lives, and know about difficulties they might have with recreational or day to day activities. There are a lot of observations that I might make that can’t be backed up scientifically yet, but do make sense in a practical way. Everyone with dementia is different, and since I work with seniors for the most part, some observations won’t transfer onto Komaeda. However, I’ll do my best to back up whatever I can with sources.

This post is just for fun and to give people ideas. It means a lot to me to see a fascinating and endearing character like Komaeda portrayed with dementia, since it is a sad and terminal disease, and I usually see it end badly in my job, so I hope to give people ideas on how to portray it, or just to notice things in a different way they might not have before!

My main sources for this post and the following ones include “Dementia Diaries,” which is a really cool project where people with dementia talk about their experiences, National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society, and my own work experience. I plan on doing more posts about specific symptoms that we see in Komaeda later, but I would be happy to hear from other people who have dementia knowledge, or to answer any questions that I can.

For the most part, I'm only going to be talking about SDR2 and a little bit of DR:AE. I haven't finished watching the anime yet and have not read any of the manga. If anyone has ideas from any of those sources, I would love to hear about them!

Overview of FTD: Which Variant does Komaeda Have?

There are two major forms of frontotemporal dementia. The first, which Komaeda likely has, is the behavioural variant (BvFTD), which is also the most likely for young people to develop. This variant of FTD mainly affects behaviour, empathy, judgement, and planning.

Komaeda is less likely to have the other variant of FTD, primary progressive aphasia. This form of FTD mainly affects language skills, including speech and comprehension.

Komaeda doesn’t seem to have very much trouble with understanding the concrete content of what people say to him, but he does occasionally seem to have trouble fully comprehending hidden meanings behind statements (for example, taking statements literally rather than as sarcastic). To me though, this is less connected to him not being able to understand the words or content of statements, and more not picking up on the emotions hidden in the statements (which I’ll address more in the behavior post). He does seem to have some trouble with word-finding in the Japanese version of the game, but again, it doesn't inhibit his ability to express himself given enough time to speak.

Another thing to note about FTD is that, in its early stages, it mainly affects behaviour and language processing, as stated above, rather than memory. In later stages, memory does start to be affected as well, but it’s different from Alzheimers (probably the most well-known form of dementia) in that memory loss isn’t the main symptom.

FTD’s prognosis is about 6-8 years. Komaeda states in his fifth free time event that his life expectancy is between half a year and one year. However, he is also referring to his lymphoma diagnosis, meaning he expected to die from a combination of both illnesses within that time frame. In SDR2, Komaeda is probably in the early to middle stages of FTD, since he was diagnosed right before entering Hope’s Peak, and was a Remnant of Despair for some time without treatment, so while we can see evidence of memory issues (which I will address in another post), it’s something he’s able to cope with and isn’t a debilitating symptom yet.

One more observation: while dementia as a whole is usually seen in elderly people, Komaeda’s specific frontotemporal dementia diagnosis has an earlier age of onset, usually between ages 40-65, and is rarely seen in elderly people. Even though being diagnosed in high school seems unlikely, it is not impossible. According to Alzheimer Society Canada, early-onset or young-onset dementia (between ages 18 and 65) accounts for 2-8% of all dementia cases.

Thank you for reading! I plan on making five posts total. The other post topics will be Outward Behaviour, Judgement/Thought Processes, Other Symptoms, and Writing Ideas.

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Summer of K-pop Tag, 17-24

[introduction/full list of questions]

I've been on vacation in Virginia for the past week, and I got back last night! I had a great time, but I also had absolutely no energy left to Tumblr at the end of each day--so let's speedrun the questions I missed!

Also, I'm not sure how to feel about the OMG comeback--the title track reminds me so much of "Dun Dun Dance" that it's hard to say if I'll be bored of it in a week, or if it'll be stuck in my head permanently, just like "Dun Dun Dance" is! Also, poor Mimi--this isn't the first time I've been confused by the way her rapping is incorporated into OMG songs, to the point where it doesn't even feel like the songs were written to have her in them?? She deserves better than whatever was happening in the second verse, that's for sure...

The Vacation Soundtrack:

Sweet Summer Day -- Twice

Far -- SZA (reminds me of "good days" !!)

Rush -- Troye Sivan (this just gets better with every listen oh my GOD)

Sunshine Baby & Morning Pages -- The Japanese House, MUNA (the sound of soft morning sunshine)

Worlds Apart -- Bruce Springsteen (the soundtrack to my museum visits)

Into the Mystic -- Van Morrison (a song for sitting at the edge of the river)

Against The Wind -- Bob Seger (a song for the botanical gardens)

Moonlight Mile -- The Rolling Stones (a song for the washington dc metro)

Pinball Wizard -- Elton John (a song for the plane ride home)

Question(s) of the Day: what do you think of sunmi's “gashina”? do you still listen to it?

I don't mind it! I don't listen to it a lot--I'm sure it's hiding out in a few of my playlists, though, and I definitely wouldn't skip it if it came on shuffle!

sunmi: "pporappippam", "1/6", or "heart burn"?

"pporappippam", of course (which should be taken as very high praise, since I'm probably the world's biggest "1/6" fan!!). I don't even know how to explain how good "pporappippam" is? It just is. It's the perfect aesthetic pop song, dreamy and yet so memorable. (God, just hearing that opening again makes me feel so many feelings.)

what’s your favorite song from dreamcatcher’s summer holiday?

"Alldaylong". "Whistle" was my first favorite from this album, and I still love every track from it, but "Alldaylong" is such a perfect showcase for their vocals, a soft, slow song that impresses me by keeping my interest with really subtle touches, things I wouldn't even notice on an average listen.

what song sounds like a vacation?

"Double Trouble Couple" by Mamamoo. Historically, my approach to family vacations has been to huddle up with a book in whatever spots are available to me (hotel lobbies preferred, poolside also quite nice!) and see how much reading I can get done--so I decided to pick a song that sounds like reading on a sunny afternoon, fresh air and faint floral scents and fangirl rants to the wall.

what do you think of loona’s “flip that”? do you still listen to it?

I just kind of pretend this one doesn't exist--the concept was really cute, but the production managed to both underwhelm & irritate me, so I go to "Why Not?" for my fun summer Loona instead!

what about loona’s “pose”?

Oh I LOVED this song last summer. I haven't listened to it in months, though! I really should listen to it more--that beat drop still hits like a brick, and the feeling is awesome.

what’s your gfriend summer song?

"Fever". I realized, while thinking about this question, that I actually prefer GFRIEND songs in the winter--they're warm and cozy and often haunting, qualities which I always crave during the coldest, rainiest season! I'll forever associate "Fever" with the summer of 2020, though--it sounds like all these emotions that I think only a three-years-ago version of myself could fully understand, particularly the feeling that the whole world is wide open, just waiting for you, but it's also heavy with shadows, and as much as you crave to explore, you're not sure you actually want to know what lies ahead. I feel the echoes of them when I listen to it, so "Fever" doesn't really sound like this summer--and honestly, I'm glad to have that distance from the feelings "Fever" reminds me of--but it still sounds like summer to me.

what’s your favorite song from summer vibe by viviz?

"#Flashback". I enjoy "Love Love Love" as much as the next guy, but Viviz doing the city-pop-ish sound (like in "#Flashback" & "Overdrive") has become my favorite thing ever--their voices suit the style so well!!

what’s your iz*one summer song?

"Dreamlike". This song is fairy lights strung across a cabana, all the sweetest feelings on a breezy summer night. I don't usually like IZ*ONE's production very much (for how good the melodies of their songs are, they deserved better!!), but I think the soundscape is pretty magical in this one, minimalism at its finest :)

what do you think of yena’s “smartphone”? do you still listen to it?

I love it!! I like how it takes the ideas that make "Smiley" great and then turns the attitude up a few notches--yes, "Smiley" was iconic, but I think "Smartphone" is actually my favorite of the two. I don't listen to it all that much, though--the b-side "Lemon-Aid" stole my heart (house songs tend to do that to me, so it wasn't unexpected!), and I usually end up choosing it over "Smartphone".

what’s your favorite concept to see during the summer?

Anything with a beach! The water is soothing, the sunshine is bright, and those sunhats with the huge brims are awesome--plus beach-themed songs are usually super danceable, which is just my style!

chung ha: “love u”, “play”, or “demente”?

I'm a huge fan of all three of these, but "Love U" is my favorite right now! I hope we're past the tropical house is boring stuff by now, because Chung Ha has the perfect voice to pair with light, fluffy beats like these--she sounds so good all throughout "Love U"!

Tomorrow: SNSD!

[corvidry]

#bless u for subbin these

Thank you but I am not smart enough to sub these ;A; I’ll keep trying, tho.

[littleeyesofpallas]

hello! I really enjoy seeing your bleach posts, they're delightful reads. if it's not too much trouble, I've got a question pertaining to as nodt! me and a friend accidentally stumbled upon some bleach thread where someone claimed that the jp text exclusively used gender neutral pronouns for nodt, but didn't post anything to back it up. would you be able to check this? I'd be pleasantly surprised if it were true, but I'm doubtful if only because if it were true I would've thought to see more than one online mention of it. I hope you have a good day!

Oh, thats a fun question! Because yeah that's totally the sort of thing English translations just can't account for even when they aren't Viz's uncoordinated, underpaid, contract translators.

So before i even pull up my copies of the raws to poke around, I do want to clarify that Japanese pronouns don't really line up with how we think of pronoun usage in English.

For one they aren't actually hard coded by gender in quite the same way; there are the pronouns that are recognized as conventionally feminine vs masculine in terms of who is using them, and some in terms of whom they refer to, but there's not as hard a line in practice for a lot of it, because its totally understood and expected that there are some men who use more feminine pronouns and women that use more masculine ones, without it being some kind of contradiction to their otherwise socially perceived cisgender.

Additionally, Japanese use of pronouns is predominantly 1st person, rather than 3rd. That is to say, a lot of things that can really only be translated into English as "I/My/Me" have gendered variants in Japanese. But the 3rd person like kare[彼]He/Him/His and kanojo[彼女]She/Her/Hers don't actually get used with anything near the frequency they do in English; more often grammatical structure lets you just not use a pronoun at all, or else you'd just actually refer to the person by name.

And incidentally there aren't really "gender neutral" 1st person pronouns to look for.

So, what I'm looking for as I start pulling up As Nodt's dialog is his use of either watashi/atashi[私] which are considered the specifically feminine 1st person pronouns, although again it's not unheard of or particularly "weird" to hear a man use them. On the flip side boku[僕] or ore[俺] would be the conventional masculine 1st person pronouns that As Nodt might be expected to use. Again though, they aren't actually all that exclusive, as the most generic indicator of a tomboyish but still pretty distinctly cisfemale character would be to just have her use boku or ore.

(In fact, the phrase orekko[オレっ娘] literally just means "ore girl" and likewise bokukko[ボクっ娘] "boku girl" and both tend to be loosely translated as "tomboy" in English. There are some distinctions in how they're used to refer to character archetypes but even those have some substantial overlap, so the difference isn't too dramatic.)

SO! That all being said...

So funny enough the first pronoun I found referencing As Nodt was one I was not expecting; In the first encounter between As Nodt and Byakuya, Byakuya refers to him with the 2nd person pronoun, Yatsu[奴] which is technically sort of gender neutral, with maybe a slight lean toward masculine, as it basically just means "that guy(derogatory)" or even "that thing(derogatory)." It is definitely meant to be used to refer to a man, but what's more important is that it's used as a derogatory term. It is not so harsh however that it can't be used between close friends as a kind of joking or ironic jab. Think, two brosy dudes calling eachother dumbasses, kind of tone.

(by comparison, As Nodt refers to Byakuya with the 2nd person pronoun, omae[お前] which just gets translated as "you" and doesn't really denote a gender either in the speaker or the person it references. It does however infer a position of superiority, so it's funny that these two are doing this mirrored talking down to one another thing.)

But later in that same confrontation As Nodt's self referencing pronouns are boku, in the phrase, boku no "ya"[僕ノ"矢"]: "My "Arrows"" when he explains his fear powers.

Skipping ahead to As Nodt's second fight, he still uses boku, so nothing to really look at there.

Rukia refers to him as kisama[貴様] another derogatory term, not unlike Byakuya's use of yatsu. It's pretty typically translated as "you bastard/son of a bitch" which is of course extremely nonliteral. But it's not like "you(derogatory)" is really an acceptable or at least not conventional translation to put to print. (Incidentally she does also switch to referring to him as yatsu as well, but only in a bit of internal monolog as she tries to puzzle out his powers, she goes back to kisama when speaking to him out loud.)

Also, he refers to Rukia with kimi[君] here, which is considered masculine language, and refers to someone in the 2nd person with an implied lack of status. That is to say, it can be used to refer to someone or equal or lesser status relative to the speaker. Similar to omae, that he used with Byakuya.

So, funny enough, of the gendered terms in use here:

As Nodt refers to himself in the masculine(boku)

As Nodt refers to Byakuya from a technically neutral position(omae). (that is to say, omae is a term both men and women use)

As Nodt refers to Rukia from a masculine position(kimi)

Byakuya refers to As Nodt as generally masculine(yatsu)

Rukia refers to As Nodt as more specifically masculine(kisama)

So it doesn't look like there are any implications of gender neutrality, subversion of gender conformity, or other queerness with As Nodt specifically. At least not regarding any of the language around him.

As a bit of a comparison

Mayuri, (who has what is typically a woman's name) uses watashi[私] to refer to himself, which is in casual usage a feminine pronoun, but also used by men as formal speech in some contexts. Even ignoring the potential implications of queerness, it's a pretty clear choice to make him come across, not exactly as "feminine" but as distinctly "unmanly" even to readers who wouldn't be looking for queer rep; the impression is that he's not a "fighter" in the masculine sense, and thus implicitly a schemer, or underhanded trickster.

And on the other side of the system Yoruichi uses washi[儂] which is both very typically masculine but also dated and makes her sound like an old man, especially back when she was just a black cat as far as anyone knew.

And this is communicated pretty clearly in how they interpret that dialog into voice casting in the anime. Nakao Ryuusei has a very distinct character voice he uses for Mayuri, that is adjacent to his portrayal of other similarly effeminate male villains: Frieza, Ceasar Clown, Him(in Powerpuff Girls Z), and Genkei(the gay monk in Mononoke). He plays a lot of men with lipstick I guess is what I'm saying... And Shirou Saitou gave cat Yoruichi precisely the old man voice her early dialog implied.

[randoimago]

Okay, picture this: Hifumi, Sae, Futaba & Kawakami from Persona 5 with a foreign S/O who, when they first meet, struggles to speak Japanese & hold a conversation (but still manages to do so). The girls decide to befriend them, and as their relationship progresses from friendly to romantic, S/O becomes so good at speaking Japanese that they're practically as fluent as a native speaker.

I'm really curious to see where & how you'd picture these girls meeting their S/O with this kind of scenario, as well as how you'd think the relationship would progress.

Foreign S/O Gradually Getting Better at Speaking Japanese

Fandom: Persona 5

Characters: Futaba Sakura, Hifumi Togo, Sadayo Kawakami, Sae Niijima

Type of Request: Headcanons

Notes: I kind of just assumed the S/O in this speaks English for these headcanons since it wasn’t specified. Hope that’s okay!!

Futaba

Sure she knows some English from online learning and such, but it’s easier for her to read than hear. So expect her to pull her phone out for some translation app or something to help you out.

New people still scare her a little so she’ll help you out then quickly leave. Except you two end up running into each other again and again and she just gives in to her fate.

As your Japanese skills grow, she’s relieved that she can use her app less considering the translations aren’t always the best.

Can’t help but let out exclamations each time she hears you correctly say a new phrase. Even if it’s a simple introduction. Your Japanese has gotten so good!

Hifumi

She does her best to help you with whatever questions you have, but there’s definitely some trouble on both ends since English isn’t one of her best subjects.

Is glad when you both get some kind of translation tools as it helps you both improve with the other language when you two talk and meet up more.

There’s some satisfaction from her when you’re able to speak to her without looking at whatever book or app to help. Just knowing how much you’re improving makes her happy, but also pushes her competitive button because now she has to get better at English too.

It just becomes a thing where you’re both doing your best to be the best at the other language and she’s glad she can speak to you in either one fluently.

Kawakami

Considering all the students she’s tutored on various subjects, she knows a good bit of English to help translate for you when you need it.

It’s definitely a very slow start, but she has a lot of patience with helping you. It helps that you’re cute too.

Is proud when you two are dating and you’re able to order for the two of you at restaurants and such.

Honestly can’t help but be amused by how awful you were at Japanese in the beginning and now you’ve pretty much got it down. Five gold stars from her!

Sae

Thankfully she knows a decent bit of English so she can hold a conversation with you at least. Just asking you about yourself and things like that.

It’s honestly a good way to learn new experiences as well as practice up on her own language skills.

Does notice when your skills do start getting better. It makes sense that you’d pick up on things more since you’re living in the country now. She even does her best to correct you at times to hopefully help you more.

Honestly very impressed with how much your Japanese has improved. There’s hardly any mistakes anymore and she’s not pointing out mistakes as often. She’s proud, S/O.

[gamelpar]

directionless

Wheeljack and Miko are lost without Bulkhead.

characters: miko nakadai, wheeljack, bulkhead

words: 593

inspired by this fanart piece

read on ao3

------------------

"Hey, Wheeljack."

"What?"

"Do you know where you're going?"

"We're fine."

"Right, but do you know?"

"We're fine, kid. I've got a navigation system."

"Uh-huh,'' Miko said dubiously.

"We aren’t lost, kid." Wheeljack's rough voice came from the vehicle, the autobot symbol on the steering wheel lighting up in tandem with the words. "Got so little faith in me, eh?"

"No, I got total faith in you, dude, but shouldn’t we have found the place by now?"

"If these other vehicles would just move out of the way." Wheeljack revved his engine impatiently.

Miko sighed, leaning her head against the window. There was a drive-in theater in one of the town's parks this weekend, and Miko decided to bring two of her fellow wreckers with her. The movie would probably start without them at this rate and leave Bulkhead wondering where they've gone.

Five minutes later—or an eternity it might as well have been—and a hundred buildings passed by without a glimpse of the park still, Miko thought it was blatantly official.

"We are lost," she said with finality, slouching back into the seat.

"We’re fine."

"You are lost, and I only recognize these buildings 'cause I'm pretty sure we've already passed them before."

Wheeljack didn't say anything but only continued to drive past building after building after building. The town was larger than Jasper had been and Miko hadn't explored it beyond her neighborhood and to the mall, leaving the Japanese teenager just as lost as the wrecker.

Once Wheeljack made a turn and Miko soon recognized the area they were driving through for the fourth time, she had enough.

"Dude, let's just call Bulkhead."

"We're fine," came Wheeljack's stubborn voice.

"Famous last words."

---------

"Hey, you guys. Where are you? The movie just started."

"Heya Bulk! Wheeljack got us lost and is too embarrassed to call you."

"We're fine."

Bulkhead's chuckle carried through Miko's phone, and Wheeljack revved his engine at it.

"Big town, huh? Want me to come and get you?"

Miko's yes collided with Wheeljack's umpteenth we're fine.

Bulkhead chuckled again. "Right. Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

Despite Wheeljack's recent objection, the white wrecker drove into the nearest parking lot belonging to a familiar fast-food chain.

"We're parked by the town's KO burger," Miko then covered the phone with a hand, speaking to Wheeljack, "We drove past that like, three times, dude. You are so lost."

"I know where that is," Bulkhead spoke as Miko put the phone back to her ear, "Just sit tight, guys. Bulk's coming to the rescue."

"Sweet. See ya, Bulk!" Miko ended the call..

"See? That wasn't so hard."

"I'm never going to hear the end of this," Wheeljack muttered.

"Why? You get lost often, Jackie?"

The autobot remained silent.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes, oh my god," the teenager giggled. "Oh man, poor Bulk. His two best friends are both directionless chumps."

A snort came from the vehicle. "At least I haven't walked into any power lines since my stay here."

Miko erupted into more giggles at the memory of Arcee telling kids the first thing Bulkhead did upon arriving on Earth.

A honking sounded from the road, interrupting the teenager's fit. Wheeljack rolled out from the parking lot and set to follow behind a large green SUV.

The autobot's radio bristled briefly before Bulkhead's voice cut through.

"Hey Jackie. Just the usual trouble, huh?"

"Get scrapped, Bulk."

It prompted both the human passenger and the green vehicle into laughter. Wheeljack only revved his engine loudly.

[retrogradedreaming]

… could i request “Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.” + platonic joe and reki👀

(our conversation made me joe and reki friendship brainrot sjdbesjbdkw)

COREY!!! <3 I'm sorry this took me so long, I started it ages ago, but I STILL think about our conversation about Joe and Reki being friends because they WOULD

18. “Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.”

---

Usually, it was Kaoru who stayed late after Sia la Luce closed. But tonight, as the clock ticked slowly on toward eleven, Reki sat at the corner table up by the counter while Kojiro finished cleaning and prepping a few things for the morning crew. Reki had two textbooks and a notebook open before him, and as the minutes wore on, Kojiro watched the hand that once held a pencil switch to drumming his fingers in a pattern across the table while his leg bounced beneath it. His hoodie strings made their way between his teeth, and he chewed until the ends frayed. Every so often, when Kojiro was close enough to hear, Reki made a low noise, one Kojiro no longer mistook for murmuring the way he did when they’d first met.

Kojiro had pretended not to notice the dark circles beneath Reki’s eyes when he entered the restaurant with Langa and Miya, had avoided drawing attention to the way Reki fell just shy of his usual energy, but that didn’t mean he failed to notice altogether. No, when it came to the kids, he knew their tells almost as well as he knew Kaoru’s after so many months spent at S, so many evenings in this very restaurant. It was Kojiro’s home turf, so to speak, and here, he knew when things weren’t right.

Which was why, after he packed all the prepped ingredients away and cleaned his workstation and washed his hands, he finally turned his full attention to Reki.

“I was gonna say I’m closing up for real, but I think I’d feel too guilty if I kicked you out,” Kojiro said, leaning back with his hips against the counter, arms folded over his chest. “So why don’t you tell me what’s up?”

Reki let the hoodie string fall from between his teeth as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. He hadn’t, and Kojiro hoped that by now Reki knew that he didn’t have to suppress around him. He also knew how hard it was to believe that someone accepted a part of you that so many others had demanded you hide.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Reki said with a barely veiled moody undertone that Kojiro had become all too familiar with.

“Don’t insult me, kid,” Kojiro said lightly, letting a small smile play across his features. “You haven’t been yourself since you got here, and I’d bet you haven’t read a word of that in the past two hours.”

Reki deflated the longer Kojiro went on, and by the end, he’d given up and rested the side of his face against the pages of the nearest open book. “Fine,” he relented. “I skipped a few classes last semester and it’s really hard to focus when I am in class because it’s way too quiet, so every time someone does something, I get distracted, and then I forget most of what the teacher said, which means I basically have to teach myself how to do all this stuff, but it’s Japanese lit and none of it makes any sense because it was written by a bunch of old guys.”

Kojiro let him finish, though he’d suspected as much. He remembered this happening with Kaoru when they were in high school, the two of them skipping classes—Kaoru more often than Kojiro—and Kaoru struggling through lit classes while Kojiro tutored him with his own mediocre understanding of the stuff. Kaoru’s big brain couldn’t always compete with the anxiety. The core of Reki’s trouble with old Japanese poetry might’ve been different, and there was no way Kojiro could tutor him more than ten years out of high school, but he could think of one thing that might work.

“Hang on, I’ll be right back,” Kojiro said and slipped back into the kitchen, plucking a few fresh leaves from the lavender plant by the door on his way.

He switched on the kettle to boil, took a mug down from the rack, and bruised the leaves in a bowl before dropping them into the cup. On top of them, he added a spoonful of honey that dissolved when he poured the water in, and he steeped it until it was just a little too strong and cool enough to strain into a glass over ice. He finished it off with sparkling water—lightly fizzy, but nothing like the sharp, painful carbonation of soda. This drink, he’d always found, was a comfort more than anything else, and he couldn’t count the number of times he and Kaoru had stayed up late drinking them in Kojiro’s kitchen when they were younger.

He brought the drink out to Reki and set it on the table, the glass immediately creating a ring in the warmth of the restaurant. “Here, drink this,” he said. “You’ll feel better.”

“This isn’t some weird Italian grandma recipe is it?” Reki asked, peering at the glass as he ran one fingertip over the crease between the pages of his book, pressing until his knuckle turned white.

“Who knows?” Kojiro said. “But I’ve tested it myself, so that has to count for something.”

Reki still looked skeptical, but he raised the glass to his lips and took a sip. Kojiro watched his reaction, pinpointing the moment that Reki realized Kojiro had actually given him something good.

“Man, I didn’t know you could make drinks, too!” Reki exclaimed, downing a third of the glass. “I thought you could only cook.”

“A good chef knows how to balance a meal with a drink,” Kojiro said, though he left out that his real expertise was pairing food with wine. “It has lavender in it, so it should help with the stress.”

They sat together in silence for a while, save for the sounds of Reki’s tics in the otherwise empty room. Reki drank as Kojiro had told him to, homework abandoned for the moment. And whether it was the drink working its magic or simply the effects of being given a sort of permission to take a break from analyzing books he didn’t want to be reading, Reki’s shoulders slowly relaxed and his leg stopped bouncing beneath the table. When the glass was empty, Reki pushed it away toward the edge of the table and glanced forlornly back at his books. Kojiro could practically feel the stress seeping back in.

“How can I help?” Kojiro asked, sliding one of the books toward him while Reki stared wide-eyed. “I haven’t read Japanese poetry in a while, but I’ll give it a shot.”

Reki pointed out passages that gave him trouble, and Kojiro listened. Occasionally, he offered the little bits of knowledge he could remember from all those years ago, but he knew how this worked. He let Reki talk it out, tell him his thoughts, reminded him to write them down, and by the time Kojiro really did kick him out around midnight, he’d finished the assignment.

[nanakah]

about Ishigami, his growth and Miko's role

most people, myself included, thought at some point that Tsubame's rejection (or acceptance) could wrap up Ishigami's arc and even his past's flashbacks neatly, but Osaragi's arc suddenly revealing there was more to his relationship with Miko made me reflect more and think nah...if anything we're halfway there. It also showed glimpses of him already struggling to find his place in the world by quitting his clubs, even though he was successful at them and there was no Ootomo incident yet to undermine his self-image.

It seemed odd that despite everything he went through he still has his "hair=shield/averting eyes" theme going strong, but it makes sense if you consider even though Tsubame helped him see the way to be more accepting of people and cleared his name, his self-esteem still is super low. I spoke of this in my "sutera" meta, but to Ishigami, his life still has been a sucession of failures and almosts. At his core, he still hasn't fully opened up to people or learned to use his vulnerabilities to his advantage.

If I have grabbed your interest thus far, keep reading for more considerations!

Tsubame is kind to anyone and attempted to do good for him, but ultimately he was never fully himself around her, nor she tried/he alllowed her reaching out to the deepest parts of his insecurities. She doesn't show her own flaws to him either and to this day we get the feeling we don't know her well, just the best parts that Ishigami wanted to see. Kaguya, Miyuki and Chika contribute a lot in a sibling-like way, but there's a limit to how much Kaguya in particular can inspire him. Miko however, has scratched a little beneath the surface and has expressed an interest in helping him with that, even if he himself is still avoiding the topic. She's also more relatable to him in the sense that the rest of the stuco has a history of successes in their lives, while he was able to watch Miko's hardships and failures closely. Their panic attacks even look similar and they're always watching the other to provide backup (in a very roundabout way, at least before) when they happen.

While their personalities are fundamentally different, his arc and struggles remind me a lot of Miyamura from Horimiya and today, as I was musing on what is so different about them as of now, I believe it's how Miyamura didn't have a single *traumatic* mistake to get over, so he goes down his development road much faster. Putting it another way, it's ultimately that Ishigami hasn't yet learned to be kind to himself like Miyamura has through Hori. Like Shirogane and Kaguya are through themselves. In Miyamura's case, sympathizing with how Hori despite her strong exterior can be very fragile inside but still support him (fight for him, defend him, accept his true self, not judge him, hear him, make him feel good enough) made him feel compelled to grow stronger to protect her back.

Miko as she was at the beggining of the story couldn't provide Ishigami this sort of stability (and that's where Osaragi's "prettier story"/"you weren't there for him" reasoning fails) even if deep down she wanted to, but now after making many mistakes, learning from them and becoming more flexible, she absolutely can. Both Ishigami and Miko have deeply rooted issues that took them more than just each other to flesh out and develop, but they're very much the missing puzzle piece the other needs.

Miko still very much has room for growth as well, mainly concerning finding a middle ground between her "bad girl" and "good girl" personas that Ishigami can easily see through, as demonstrated by the consolation chapter. She tried being "bad", she attempted lying but was still saying half-truths, because her love of justice isn't just out of parental abandonment issues or loneliness - she does believe them sincerely. The moment Ishigami headpated her and shared genuine, spot-on words of concern and admiration (thus a hint of fondness), it was all over for her trying to keep up the love-warfare upper hand.

That's not actually new - Ishigami has always demonstrated he was able to see glimpses of her true self, be it teasing how she's an otaku or a closet pervert and such, he never fully bought the strait-laced image she aspired to make real. But it did take him being around her more to see she could be sweet to him and as he puts it, that smiling more is not a bad look on her. Miko says to Osaragi your true self only comes through interacting with others, so given how lonely she has always been (and how the one person close to her - Osaragi - was actually keeping things between them superficial because of her own problems), it's no surprise she's only finding out now who she is. Ishigami can help Miko find a better compromise of good/bad after both not following any rules at all for so long and recently learning that hard work can pay off. Miko immersing herself in his hobby will clash with her rigid study schedule sooner or later, and he'll know how to help her with that better than anyone else.

On the other hand, Ishigami's moral compass, romanticism (love for flowers, planing dates etc) and idealism aren't things he is proud of...yet. He protects himself with layers of cynism, especially in his first appearances, but he is always being contradictory and letting it slip how idealistic/pure he is at heart. He also is only now learning to like his outward image with things like fitness/studying and finding out it's not like he never cared about it - it's just that he was scared shitless of failure, thus never even tried hard in the first place to avoid being hurt. And as I have advocated for in the Sutera post, I expect Miko in some level to help him come to terms with seeing good in himself. Heck, even being able to game with her now and showing off how good he is and having her appreciate it is gonna do wonders to make him feel more "adequate". Tsubame's arc had a lot of him changing himself to become "better", but Miko on the other hand is trying to put herself in HIS shoes to maybe go "hey, I like you as you are. I'm trying to understand you more and put effort in for you".

Ishigami and Miko start out watching out for each other behind their backs - which instead of helping their relationship, drives them further apart because they think the other side is showing no appreciation. As the story progresses, they're slowly learning to make each other more aware of their support, and it is making them open up more in general.

They have a strong belief the other wants to be rescued and there is truth in that. Both want help and to be recognized for their efforts, but won't cry out for it. In the unplugged earbuds chapter Ishigami takes it upon himself to protect Miko's reputation in spite of himself, the election arc has him actually putting effort into the campaign just for the sake of protecting her and at first posing as a rival of hers to Shirogane only to reveal he's trying to "make Miko smile", he is constantly fending off men from interacting with her as protection (while also sounding jealous), he was way more protective of her when she was wearing that cast than needed and is now being able to openly headpat her and sounds almost like her "soothing sounds" from the days of yore lol Sure Tsubame seems like his start to becoming "a better man", but all the way back on the election, it was for Miko's sake that we first SEE him putting effort into *anything* without being coerced by anyone to take action.

And while it's more discreet compared to Ishigami's "white knight" attitude, Miko also tries hard to protect him - cheering him on during the sports festival race and wanting to console him before the stuco intervened, telling him he should study (but he thinks it's just nagging), christmas (which I'll elaborate bellow), making sure he was able to graduate middle school by actually confronting school staff and, of course, their very first meeting as recently revealed.

Many people hated the entirety of Osaragi's arc, but 232 gave very juicy info indeed. Ishigami's reason for supporting Miko from the shadows comes from admiration AND part gratitude for her attempting to talk to him and listen to what troubles him, and seeing they actually had a "falling out" argument was game changing.

He looks sad and troubled to have shut her down there, not simply angry, and so does she (there's tears in her eyes when her face is shown in the next page) - despite her black and white sense of justice at this point of the story, she still wanted to listen to him. And even after that outburst she still believed the rumors weren't real, unlike Osaragi sees it - otherwise she wouldn't have made the effort for him to be able to move on to high school. Why would she care, if she truly hated him and thought he was in the wrong?

If any further proof was needed at all that this info is important, I'm happy to say we have more. I noticed the Christmas stairs scene mirrors this exact falling out moment: "Go away"/"Suit yourself"

But this time Miko had already decided to change, had already seen the mess their relationship became the last time she did not reach out to him and thus already had their previous falling out in mind - meaning she decides to chase after him.

I don't like how the scanlations handled this scene because reading the japanese raws, my interpretation was that Miko was sounding "annoying" because she was still kinda drunk/unfiltered and freaking out when talking to Ishigami, not outright berating him like the Jaimini's box translation made it look like. She also sounds too angry after the fall, so I generally thought Viz's version (the panel shown above) was closer to the original.

"I always have to take care of you! You keep putting youself in danger. You can't make it on your own." is a better translation than Jaimini's, and also parallels better what Ishigami is often telling Miko as well (That she keeps putting herself in danger and that he has to be around to keep her in check). But with 232 in mind, I think it misses a nuance of the original line: "ほんとあんたは 私が居ないと危なっかしく駄目ね" - "Honto anta wa watashi ga inaito abunakkashiku dame ne" - while I'm a novice at japanese studies, gathering from what I can read and trying to get a feel of the whole sentence, it's closer to "So it really is dangerous to you if I'm not there/ It's no good if I'm not around you". You can take that as her being full of herself, which is the route Jaimini's goes ("You'd be screwed without me") but that's too hostile - Viz's got the spirit of wanting to protect him better, but the original has an implication that she has "tested not being there"/failed being there before (due to not fully siding with him in middle school) that's absent elsewhere.

IMO the reason Ishigami's "closed his eyes" arc is not over yet is because he hasn't accepted or gotten over or fully learned from his past yet, he simply shut it down. That's why briefly during the sports festival his eyes are in plain view, then go back to their usual for the balloon gag. I'm not sure if Ootomo herself will make a comeback, may or may not - regrets are regrets and sometimes the only solution to them is letting them stay in the past. But the topic of how he saw Miko in middle school and the letter certainly are being set up to still show up in the story.

If I compare him to Miyamura again, he'd still be at the point before Miyamura's haircut - not wanting to face the parts of himself he doesn't like, not quite ready to change. Not quite ready to patch up his own wounds yet and instead silencing everything from his past.

In this sense, Miko does wonders to make him feel more confident even if he hasn't realized it yet, and she's always dropping little hints she'd like him to worry about his future not in a naggy way, but because she genuinely prays for his success. He unconsciously wants Miko to think well of him and it fills him with confidence and a more prideful image of himself he doesn't really display to anyone else, not even Tsubame - like his usages of "ore" (a more manly/confident way of addressing himself) around her (AND HER ALONE):

( I don't like the available translations to the staircase scene either, lol. Zaibatsu has conveyed the tone of the second scene up there perfectly. For the staircase line, I've seen "I'll be there to catch you" and "I'll save you" which are contextually correct, but to me the original "俺が絶対守る" - "I (ore) will absolutely protect you" carries a much more romantic nuance or ambiguity, regardless of him realizing it at that point. It's like, the title to one of the most romantic moments/songs in the CCS Clear card anime ost, for instance. OF COURSE MIKO LOVES HIM. The narrator doesn't overexplain or take apart Ishimiko's interactions like for Prezguya, but all the evidence needed is there. And I gotta add the very next chapter to the staircase one is the "eternal love" x "real love" I'm super fond of that says fate is irrelevant and to find real love you must use your head to realize/understand things, so makes the romantic subtext even greater.)

This whole affair is also making me open my eyes that I should try to study japanese more...of course I'm happy to have translations and scanlators working hard, but there is something inherently lost in adaptations because it robs you of connecting with the author's intentions unless it was the author who wrote the translation in the first place

Thinking back on Ishigami's early "i wanna die/i'm going home/don't look at me" role, it seems unbelievable we're at the point he's now able to directly confront a "stranger" (lololol) or make serious promises with so much confidence.

PLEASE DON'T END SO SOON MANGA, I NEED MORE.

( off-topic kind of, but i'm lazy to make a separate post just for it: Since I mentioned things lost in translation, I saw something on Discord about Ishigami having an unreliable narrator moment in the "compliments" chapter/Iino Miko cannot love part 4 and holy molly, it is true. He first says something akin to "You're just too beautiful" out of context, Miko HEARS IT - and that's why she looks so shocked before asking for clarification - and he DID SAY IT in the speech bubble, but after she's nice to him and he thinks back to what he said he adds a "Your handwriting is just too beautiful" to his flashback. I'm ONTO HIM. ONTO HIM I SAY. It is what he meant, but it's like his mouth betrayed him. Whether it's unconscious or denial...it totally is something. The scanlation completely skips this and had the same line both times it's mentioned.)

[ikemen-girl]

Hello, sweety! I don't know if you're currently taking up request or not (please don't mind this ask if you're not doing it right now ^^). I'm a teacher and seeing how Mitsuhide teaches MC in his route, may I request you for a HC of Mitsuhide finds out that his MC is a teacher as well in her future life? I really want to know how he would react on that. Thank you for visiting my blog beforehand and hoping you a wonderful upcoming weekend! ✨🍀

Hellooooo dear 😍😍♥️♥️, thank you very much for this interesting request 🥰💗! I am also aspiring to become a teacher in few years so I am very glad to meet you😍😍! And I would like to say that you are an amazing artist👏🙌! I hope you also have a great weekend💃🌹! So, here we go😉~

Ikesen Headcanon⚔💗

Mitsuhide reacting to a MC being a Teacher👩‍🏫:

You loved teaching children😍❤ but you ended up in the sengoku era while travelling to Kyoto on a school trip with your students & other teachers leaving a very good life in the modern era😩 & accidentally saved Nobunaga's life to your surprise & Mitsuhide took a special interest in you👀 & his mind-reading skills used to freak you out😨.

You were honestly terrified after stepping on the battlefield for the first time in your life😱 when you have been always surrounded by the laughter & twinkling eyes of children and you were missing it terribly😭, to top it all, the shock of seeing a man die infront of your eyes was too overwhelming, so you fell unconscious😵 & Mitsuhide carried you back in Azuchi Castle.

"Starting from tomorrow, I will be your teacher, little mouse, for the subject matters, I think, tactics, equestrianism, self defense, firearms seems a good start😏!", said Mitsuhide with a huge smirk on his face.

"I hope you will be a good pupil, little mouse🐭!", said Mitsuhide as he stood and gave you a head-pat.

"Pffffttttt, I am waiting for that moment", you murmured, chuckling to yourself🤭.

"Did you say something?", asked Mitsuhide turning back to look at her.

"I am looking forward for tomorrow, Mitsuhide-sensei, goodnight😅!", she straighten up with a slight bow. Mitsuhide smiled at her🙂 and goes outside the room.

"His smile creeps me out, well, nevermind. I am excited to see the surprise on his face tomorrow😁", she let out a huge grin.

"Before starting up on the actual studies, I would like to test your knowledge base, here is your questions sheet, fill it up, little mouse📝!", said Mitsuhide as he gave her the question paper with a smirk on his face😏.

You took it, pretending to be afraid of the test making him amused, "Go on, little mouse, it's not that difficult, I assure you!", he said with a amused grin on his face😄. As you look down at the questions on Japanese literature, history & general knowledge, on the inside, you were so happy 💃while on the outside, you kept a face of a child who is horrified at the thought of giving an exam😱.

You submitted your answer sheet to him and as Mitsuhide scanned it, his eyes went wide with shock😲, he was NOT expecting this at all. You honestly wished that you have a camera 📷 to capture his expression which was so funny to say the least. Each & every answer was correct💯.

"How😳?", it's the only word that came out his mouth. You couldn't control anymore & burst out laughing loudly🤣. "Because I am also a teacher, Mitsuhide👩‍🏫", you said with a proud look on your face. "What😳?", he was left speechless once again which only made it harder for you to control your laughter.

"You really surprised me there, little mouse😅!", Mitsuhide laughs along with you to hide his flustered expression. "So, what do you teach🤔?", he asked, curious to know about you.

"Let's see, I mainly teach japanese literature & history, apart from it, I am well versed in general knowledge, english literature, I love art, psychology, etc, so if any child wants to learn it, I teach these skills to them as well with full excitement as being around them & seeing them grow in their lives makes me so happy🤩❤!", you said with a biggest smile on your face🥰 & eyes shining with happiness since you came to this era👀✨. Mitsuhide was, to be very honest, awestruck seeing your genuine happiness☺️.

As much as Mitsuhide didn't want to interrupt you, but he grew suspicious of your origin as being this educated in this era was surprisingly rare especially in something like english literature🤔. "Who are you & where are you from, mysterious little mouse? Tell me all your secrets, little one", he asked, narrowing his gaze at you👀.

You froze for a moment😳 as you knew very well that you have raised his suspicions when you were rambling non-stop😬 & you couldn't lie or else you will be in huge trouble😓. "Why should I tell you when you are also a potential "traitor" in Oda forces infront of everyone, hm?", you asked jokingly trying to avoid the question😅. "Little mouse, I am used to prying out the secrets and I would not prefer to use the same techniques on you", he said with a frown on his face🤨 unknown to him but you noticed the discomfort in his expression & sighed.

So you showed him your purse👜 and told him everything about yourself as Mitsuhide listened patiently. "So our little mouse came from 500 years in the future, it's hard to believe but you have proof with yourself, now I can see the reason how you are so innocent & untouched by the realities of this time", said Mitsuhide with a amused smirk😏.

"I have only told you the truth, rest is up to you to believe in me", you said with a pout☹.

"Don't pout, I believe in you, little one, as you have been a very nice girl, I will treat you with tea & sweets🍵🍡 as a reward, little mouse", Mitsuhide said caressing your cheek with his thumb😏. You honestly couldn't stop yourself from smiling after hearing the offer😍.

Mitsuhide was overcome with affection for her as she believed in him as a person despite having her doubts and confided in him with everything, he made a secret vow to himself to protect her from everything❤.

You both went to the teahouse together & suddenly Kyubei called Mitsuhide for giving some urgent information. Mitsuhide excused himself for a moment while you were happily eating your sweets😍, but then, you heard some men were talking bad things about him behind his back & you couldn't stand seeing & listening something wrong so you strongly defended him infront of them😡, not caring for the fact that you had no weapons on yourself, one of the men tried to hit you but Mitsuhide arrived in time to rescue you from them😎.

So this started the strong feeling of love in heart of Mitsuhide towards you😍💓💞 as nobody has ever done something like this for him, he was so impressed by the fact that you strongly stood for your values proving your strength of sense of justice as a teacher & a good person by heart☺️💯.

He continued training you in survival skills like self defense, horseriding, shooting as you were already were well-versed in theory. In exchange, you would definitely teach him english literature & tell him about many fascinating things about the human mind & everything you know about future along with many other things😍, you both loved spending time with each other and always look forward to such meetings everyday.

Once, you were well trained in these skills, you gave your gratitude towards your "teacher" Mitsuhide by gifting him a very beautiful portrait✍❤ of him playing with his pet fox, Chimaki🦊. He couldn't resist hugging you tightly the moment, he laid his eyes on it🤗💗. You yourself was the biggest & the most precious gift for him in his life but your gift made him the most happiest person💓😢, he would definitely try to hide his happiness with a amused smirk & headpat but you can see through his facade that he is genuinely happy🥰. He would definitely put the portrait in such a place where everyone could see his little mouse's amazing skills😎😏.

After facing many difficulties together, you both confessed your feelings towards each other💐 and you both were a lovely couple infront of everyone😍👫💗.

You would both use knowledge of english as a medium for infiltration as spies together in other territories🧐. Surprisingly, a language, i.e., english, became a special kind of exchange & secret code between you☺️ and Mitsuhide😏 as you both would often converse in english infront of other warlords much to their surprise & confusion🙄😳🤔.

As you were always willing to stay by his side, he used to take you along to infiltrate certain places, your skill of art would definitely come as a big help for Mitsuhide💯, as you could easily draw the suspects making his workload way more easier than it was before✍😌.

In exchange, Mitsuhide would always make sure that you were not uncomfortable in such investigation trips, he would always give you tips in dancing, singing, acting, etc 🤗 and also expect loads of teasings while he is at it, fufufufu��.

You both being the best teachers around in Azuchi would definitely use this opportunity to teach as many children as possible who don't have access to proper education without asking for anything in return as you both did it for your own self-satisfaction & happiness in your free times💛. Mitsuhide generally taught the skills of self defense🤼‍♂️, weaponry🔫, etc while you would educate the kids in literatures, general knowledge & art👩‍🏫. Children would also always look forward to meeting both of you everyday🥰❤🤗. It became one of your most favourite & productive ways to spend time with each other❤. Children also ships you both together, mind you👀❤🤭!

Mitsuhide loved the way your eyes sparkles with happiness👀✨ whenever you are around the children🥰😘❤ and can't help falling more deeply in love with you😍💓.

He would always praise you infront of everyone, everytime he gets a chance😏. Cue warlords- We know that already, Mitsuhide, you just told us🤦‍♂️. Mitsuhide: Hooooh~But not that...😏 endless praise begins & he shuts up only when you take him outside the council room dying of embarrasment😳🙈🤦‍♀️ to which he only laughs loudly🤣😏.

Mitsuhide would often call you "my brilliant little mouse💯🐭!", as his way of showing affection towards you💗😏. Cue you blushing deep shade of red tomato and running away from him😳🙈🍅.

Extra~

"You really love her, huh?", asked Hideyoshi as he was walking down the hallways😆. "Obviously, I love her with all my heart💗, she is the brightest star of my life🌟!", said Mitsuhide, his eyes filled with love and a beautiful smile on his face.

"Was that a genuine smile on your face, Mitsuhide?!", exclaimed Hideyoshi, shocked😲.

"My, My, Hideyoshi, I don't have any idea what you are talking about😏", said Mitsuhide as he realised that his facade broke their for a moment out of his love for you. Hideyoshi *eye twitch* : whatever🙄!

Mitsuhide then went looking for you to tease and shower you with all his love & affection❤😏.

Hope, you all enjoyed it❤😍🤗. Comments are appreciated😇!

[chibimyumi]

Hello Chibimyumi, I apologise in advance for the uncomfortable question I have about the musicals. I hope I'm mistaken, but for those musicals where Soma and Agni are included, is it truly the case that they are portrayed by actors in brownface? Is this a common occurrence, and what is public perception of this in Japan today?

Dear Anon,

You ask an incredibly good but complicated question. It is great to hear that you are aware of how cultural contexts can play into such matters. Now, since you asked, I’d ask you all to strap in; this is going to be quite a ride.

Short answer

If you mean whether the actors used darker make-up to portray a race with a darker skin tone, then yes. The actors are all ethnically Japanese without any Indian heritage to the best of everyone’s knowledge.

However, before we can discuss this “whether this is an issue”, the following is what I need all readers here to keep in mind at all times (i.e. don’t continue reading with White SJ in mind). Namely: In Japan and Japanese live theatre medium especially, ‘[colour] face’ has entirely different connotations than in the White West. To anyone mid-pounce of their attack in light of social justice, halt. Please hear me out. I am talking ONLY about Japan.

Brown Face in Japan?

Demographics

So, before we begin, I wish to instill in you all that Japan is very, very homogeneous in comparison to most other countries. Japan has LESS THAN 2% of ethnically non-Japanese people, and half of this >2% is ethnically Chinese or Korean. So yes, in Japan, ONLY 1% is racially and phenotypically different than the native Japanese.  Japanese people are the natives in Japan, so they consider their skin ‘neutral’; it is NOT coloured. Then there are the ‘white coloured’ people who are semi-neutral, and you have everyone else who have a ‘darker colour’.

Now with this framework in mind, let us jump to how this demographic makeup affects the theatre world. For clarity’s sake I shall discuss this in sections.

Section 1 - Poor, poor industry

Japanese theatre and especially 2.5D industries are really poor. As discussed in full detail in this post about the extreme harm of pirating JP theatre, the vast majority of theatre actors need to juggle 2 or 3 jobs to make a living because most theatre companies ONLY pay the performers for their stage time (no rehearsal pay, no food, no accommodation). One run of a show is usually no more than 5 or 6 weeks. If one show gets a run of 3 months, that is considered ridiculously long. So far, only the top three Japanese theatre companies can manage such long runs, being: Takarazuka, TOHO and Shiki.

Section 2 - ‘Broad utility value’ and chances

The super short runs means that on average, an actor only has an income for 5 or 6 weeks for one job, even though their work for one production takes much more time than that (formal rehearsal is usually one month, but there’s a lot of ‘homework’ and ‘overwork’ too). This again means that in order to make a living in the theatre industry, a performer needs to have ‘broad utility value’, that is to say: they need to be ‘castable’ into as many roles as possible, and therefore ‘neutral’.

The selling stories in Japan usually have an all-Japanese or all-white character list, as you all must have noticed. When there are non-white foreigners in such stories, they’re usually countable on the fingers of one hand. And sadly, when they are present they‘re often comic relief, antagonists, or ‘exotic accessories’.

The wider sentiment in Japan is that if you are ‘neutral coloured’ you can be painted into a different colour. But if you are ‘darker than neutral’, you can’t be painted lighter. “You cannot take the colour away”, so to say. That is the reason why in Japan, darker skinned minorities would have very little incentive to sign up for the theatre industry. Why bother get a job that pays so terrible and ONLY be allowed minor/bad roles if there happen to be darker skinned characters once in a blue moon? Why bother competing with ‘neutral’ skinned people who can replace you easily?

In a nutshell, the terribly racist reality is that darker skinned actors are not considered to have broad utility value because the entertainment industry and common populace decided so. With so few dark skinned characters and the wide acceptance that ‘neutral’ skinned people can be painted into any other colour, darker skinned people’s chances of getting by on theatre work is just very slim. The entertainment industry makes itself very unappealing to these people, and indeed resulted in a shortage of darker skinned performers.

This current shortage means that if a production wants to feature differently skinned characters without ‘brown facing’, they’d have trouble finding enough people who: 1. are ‘the correct colour’, 2. are willing to work for virtually no pay, and 3. also have the skills to perform in Japanese language (many of these people also really lack the practice to build up theatre skills because - as explained - they have very little outlook in this field). So again, “why bother going through the trouble if you can just paint these actors white and those actors brown? Same difference right? Here have some brown foundation and you’re good to go!”

Section 3 - The race is the costume

Well, is painting Japanese actors white or brown ‘same difference’? In practice... to Japan, ‘yes’. Japan does not have an issue with pretending to be a different race through make-up. This means that there is no concept of ‘brown face’ or ‘any other-colour-face’. Seeing Japanese actors painted white in modern theatre and cosplay is the standard. Countless modern theatre shows feature almost exclusively white characters, after all.

As a representative example, Kuromyu mostly has white characters. But so far it has had 4 mixed-race actors in 10 years! However, all of them are partially white, meaning they’re “““light neutral””” or even “““extra pretty”””.  

There is no such thing as ‘white face’ in Japan, and outside Japan, nobody (in their right mind) should compare ‘white face’ to ‘black face’. When the Europeans arrived in Japan, the Japanese were actively challenged to prove themselves as white as possible. Japan was spared from colonisation because they proved themselves “white civilised enough” for the Europeans. That is the Japanese-Western legacy: “pretending to be a colour is part of ‘modernisation’ and ‘globalisation’”. If painting a ‘neutral’ person white is okay, why wouldn’t painting someone ‘brown’ be? It sounds quite hypocritical to Japanese people because Japan has a different racial relationship than the White West has.

Unlike white-colonising countries, Japan does not have such a long and problematic history regarding brown/black races, hence there is also no collective guilt about having systematically oppressed and excluded dark skinned people. In the White West if you paint someone darker it’s because they don’t want to employ dark skinned people. In Japan however, it’s because there are hardly any darker skinned people to actually take the job. It’d be an altogether different problem for the theatre industry to just go: “we shall only stage all-Japanese-characters productions now!” ... that’s what they did in Imperial Japan during WWII, and that was NOT pretty.

Besides, Japan in being so homogeneous, we can imagine why awareness of ‘brown/black face’ was never deemed immediately ‘necessary’ in Japan. In combination with the legacy of ‘pretending to be a colour is fine’, the current status quo had taken shape.

Unlike American media or South Korean media, Japan predominantly creates solely for the purpose of domestic consumption. Hence the DVDs are often sold in Japan only without subtitles. Hence that many websites are Japan restricted. Japanese theatre no exception, it’s made by Japanese, for the Japanese, in Japan. As explained above, because there is no concept of problematic x-colour-face, then why bother avoiding it?

Section 4 - Orientalism though....

So, are Soma and Agni ‘brown face’ in Kuromyu? Not in the same way it would be in a Euro-American way, but that does not mean it’s ‘no problem at all’.

The main problem in Japan is not the ‘brown face’, but Orientalism. The common Japanese people would not bat a single eye at two Indian characters going on and on about curry, elephants and Hindu Gods. But unlike ‘colour-face’ not really being a problem in Japan because of different cultural heritage, the perpetuation of stereotypes cannot be excused.

When there are so few dark skinned characters in an otherwise all-white/ “neutral” cast, it surely is quite aggravating that the musical chose to reduce Indian people to... well, curry, elephants and Hindu Gods. Had the writers not reduced Indian culture to a stereotype however, then as long as the portrayal of dark-skinned people is respectful, ‘brown face’ really is not a problem in Japan, just like ‘white face’ is not.

Conclusion

In this post I have discussed the demographic makeup of Japan, the terrible circumstances of the theatre industry, and how this lead to a real lack of dark-skinned performers. The lack of dark-skinned actors, in turn, means that if a theatre/film industry doesn’t want to go ‘pure Japanese race pride!!!’, they’d have to ‘paint actors into a race’.

Japan narrowly having escaped white colonialism also means that the Japanese have a very different awareness about race and sensitivity. In being challenged to ‘perform the white race’ in the 19th century, Japan gained a legacy wherein ‘race is just performative’.

That Japan has a different cultural heritage and racial history can explain why x-‘colour-face’ is non-problematic in Japan. Applying white-social-justice to Japanese standards would cause entirely different problems simply because the Japanese demographic makeup and film/theatre industry simply cannot adopt this western standard without doing more harm than good. This Japanese heritage however, does NOT excuse offensive stereotyping of people however.

So in a nutshell: Soma and Agni are not ‘brown face’ in Japanese context because there is no such concept. However, there is a problem, and it lies in the Orientalist stereotyping of Indian culture.

[paintedrecs]

Helloo i saw a tweet you made saying you recently watched a bunch of gay animes and i was wondering if you could perhaps make a list and post them on twitter? I'm always looking for anime to watch and i know your tastes align with mine. If it isn't too much of a bother perhaps? I hope you have loveky days!!!❤❤❤❤

Hey friend! I put off answering this, sorry, because my answers tend to be unnecessarily long and I was v tired when I got the original message. But if you’re still interested, here’s a lil rundown of some of what I’ve been watching/reading. In reference to this tweet, where I was watching a show that definitely isn’t gay but is kinda gay if you just squint the tiniest bit, which I’ve gotten used to doing.

If you follow me on twitter, most of these proooobably won’t be new? But I talk about/RT things on a scattered basis, so maybe there are some you haven’t checked out yet. 

So, the canonical gay! I’m only going to list the ones I liked and/or remember most - my Quest For Gay Anime started two years ago, and I watched pretty much everything I could get my hands on, but at that point, there were only a few I loved enough to rewatch/buy/recommend. The list has gotten a little longer since then, unfortunately for my attention span and wallet.

(I’ll be honest, a lot of the really popular/older BL have too many consent issues for my tastes - I understand the context and all that, and no hate on anyone who loves stories that didn’t particularly appeal to me. But I’m including this note cause (a) if I don’t put a really well-known BL anime on this list that’s probably why (b) I’m gonna drop in a few that toe that line but I’ll try to include warnings where relevant.)

ANIME FAVES

DOUKYUSEI (Classmates)

This is kinda where it all started. I saw a tweet going around with a trailer for a very soft, lovely movie about two boys falling in love, and I thought whaaaaat an actual gay story? Where they kiss? And I don’t have to just imagine it??

Still one of my top faves. It’s beautifully animated - like filming watercolors? It always makes me feel languid and happy. The story and characters are realistic, in a very kind, hopeful way, as these two navigate starting a relationship that neither of them expected. It’s available on Amazon video - I own a digital copy there, hah, as well as the physical blu-ray, because I watch it often enough to want both.

I also recommend the manga, although I’ve only recently discovered that apparently the story did not end after the first three volumes, so I can only recommend that far. (I’ve heard it, unfortunately, gets angstier, and it’s still incomplete? The first three volumes feel complete to me, so I’m happy to leave it there if so.) 

The movie pretty much covers the first manga volume - it’s a very accurate page-to-screen translation - and there’s some really wonderful relationship building and exploration of family dynamics in the next two volumes.

HITORIJIME MY HERO (My Very Own Hero)

Another huge favorite that I have literally watched like 30 times at this point. Two gay couples, double the fun, although this pairing is by far my favorite.

I’ll direct you to my very long post on this topic for more information, but the short version is:

Warning: there is an age gap and student/teacher relationship, but it’s treated very thoughtfully and is directly addressed as part of the story. They have to navigate through how to make their relationship work (issues with friends, coworkers, society). And they didn’t meet as student/teacher - it’s a lot more complicated, with some fantastic family dynamics. There’s a lot of angst to Setagawa’s backstory that makes you really appreciate the happiness and love he finds with Kousuke & his whole family. (Many more details in my watch-this-anime post.)

The series is 12 episodes long, with a WONDERFUL (happy) ending that makes me cry LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE TIME. Gosh I love this show a lot. It packs some serious feels - I cry, I laugh, I cry again, but for happy reasons.

It’s from a manga, but I do not recommend the manga. The manga falls into a lot of the tropes that I personally don’t like; I think the anime does a much better job of tackling the complexity of their story and treating these two with the thoughtful nuance they deserve.

Can be found on Amazon; I bought the blu-ray, and it’s one of the exceedingly rare cases where I love both the sub and the dub. There are slight differences in translation that really makes it worth watching both.

GIVEN

Wow, this one. Available on Crunchyroll, 11 episodes with a movie coming soon.

It’s newer to my list, and it’s really, really good. I’ve only read the first two volumes of the manga so far (with two more on preorder), because tbh I have trouble reading scanlations online and find it a lot more enjoyable to just wait for the official translations in paperback form.

So far the anime lines up pretty closely with the manga, so I do recommend both, although at this point I enjoy the anime more - partly because of some of the choices they make in rearranging/expanding scenes, and partly because it’s a story about a band, so it makes a huge difference to be able to actually hear the music.

And Mafuyu’s song is worth it. Wow. I listened to it on repeat for like two weeks after the episode first aired.

Uenoyama (the dark-haired stern-looking heart-of-gold character, I have a type), is my favorite. He is a MASSIVE disaster gay, and a lot of his scenes are absolutely hilarious. The dynamics between the characters aren’t what you’d expect - it’s amazing to watch the seemingly quiet Mafuyu come out of his shell and display his true personality - and there’s some really gritty, emotional material, too.

What’s fascinating about this one is that there are parallel stories going on about past loves and heartbreak, and how truly loving (and losing) someone doesn’t mean you can’t find happiness again.

(Warning and a spoiler: there is a suicide that happens before this story starts - Mafuyu’s ex-boyfriend - and while nothing about it is graphic, that event is central to Mafuyu’s story, so there are some weighty episodes. It ultimately leads to him meeting Uenoyama and joining the band. And finding himself again.) 

The movie’s gonna focus more on the secondary couple, but I’m still excited to see more of them! And...more angst, I imagine, but hopefully a lot more happiness as well.

SARAZANMAI

Okay, fair warning: this show is weird.

I think if you’re familiar with Japanese folklore, particularly kappas, you might have a much better intro than I did, but considering the creator laughed about how much they got away with by hiding the weirder parts of the story during the initial pitch, I...am not sure about that.

It’s weird but I liked it a lot. I’m not even going to attempt to explain it in the space available here, but the wiki page has a decent summary if you’re curious before diving in.

The very, very condensed version is that the main characters are three middle school boys who get turned into kappas by the kappa prince, who sends them on missions to retrieve “dishes of hope” every episode. In the process, they learn more about themselves and each other, since each time they complete one of these missions, it results in one of their big secrets being spilled to the others.

I like the main trio (and there’s a gay subplot there, too, where one of the boys is in love with his best friend but doesn’t know how to tell him), but I started watching the show because of the “villains,” Reo and Mabu. They have a deeply angsty backstory that you don’t get to until the last couple episodes. Up until then, they have a transformation sequence every episode that ... yes, gets repetitive, Miraculous Ladybug-style, but I still sat and watched, entranced, every time.

One of the things I like about this anime is that while it is very, very gay, it’s not about being gay. It’s a fantasy story where several characters just happen to be gay. As much as I love romance (which the rest of these recs definitely have been), I like being able to see gay people (or kappas...) in different genres, just existing.

And if you can’t get into the show (11 episodes, available on Crunchyroll), there’s a spinoff manga about Reo and Mabu being disaster dads to a baby girl they find on a dish in the middle of the street. I think it’s a human AU (kinda?), but it’s super sweet and funny and I liked it a lot.

THE BETRAYAL KNOWS MY NAME

Okay, so this was an early favorite, and I rewatched it recently and laughed a lot about how massively dramatic it is, but I don’t care, I’m still into it.

We’re skirting the edge of “canon gay” here, because you never get an on-screen kiss, and it’s technically a shoujo manga. But...it was at the top of a lot of BL lists when I was first hunting for good stuff to watch, and the relationship between Yuki and Luka is deeply romantic (and achingly piningly good) and central to the story.

The title’s linked to one of Luka’s frequent lines: “I will never betray you,” which he earnestly tells Yuki at every opportunity he gets. Luka is an extremely powerful demon, and Yuki is part of an immortal (via reincarnation) clan that hunts demons. But in Yuki’s past life, they fell in love.

Yuki was, at that point and in previous lives, a woman, but something changed this time around: he was reborn as a man, and without any of his memories.

Luka, who waited for Yuki to be reincarnated so they could be together again, still remembers and still loves him. But he keeps his devotion on Yuki’s terms, refusing to force the memory of a relationship that Yuki might have wanted to forget.

There’s one particularly great scene where the leader of Yuki’s clan asks Luka if anything has changed - if they can still rely on Luka to stay by Yuki’s side and be his protector. “They have the same soul,” Luka says. Gender doesn’t matter. He loves Yuki. He’ll always love Yuki. 

And Yuki, though he doesn’t remember loving Luka, begins to slowly, inevitably, fall in love again.

The anime is 24 episodes - while it doesn’t fully close out the story, it does have some closure, or at least a solid sense of an upcoming happy ending. (I own the DVD; I don’t think the show is currently available to watch online.)

There’s also a manga, which is beautifully illustrated, wow, the sheer level of detail in this blows me away. Which, unfortunately, was way too much work to maintain at that level and ultimately destroyed the author’s health, so the last few volumes get shorter and shorter and the story trickles to an unsatisfying conclusion.

I still love it a lot, though, and it’s another example of establishing a great relationship within the context of a much larger story - a sweeping, complicated fantasy epic.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Those are my primary favorites, unless I’m forgetting anything (and for the purposes of this post, I’m leaving out things like Tiger & Bunny and Promare, which are very gay and embraced as such by the creators but also not something I’m comfortable including in a Definitely Canonically Gay, You Won’t Ever Be Disappointed By Future Reveals list). If I have the energy, I might make another post like this for those kinds of stories.

But there are a few others that I enjoyed, if not enough to buy copies of or collect merch for. These include:

No. 6

Dystopian, so definitely very dark and kind of visually disturbing in places (for instance, people rotting from mystery infections). There’s a central m/m romance and one kiss, but the ending is kind of an open one without a super happy conclusion. It doesn’t have high rewatch value for me - I’ve only ever watched it once and don’t really feel inclined to go back - but it's got good storytelling and is worth viewing. 

Kizuna Koi No Kara Sawagi (Much Ado About Nothing OVA)

That last bit of the title is important to get you to the correct OVA, since there are different variations of this story. It’s been a long time since I tried the main anime, but I did not like it - I had major issues with its story, particularly with the sexual assault plotline. I did, however, love the OVA and have recommended it to people as something that can be watched independently.

There's still a little dodgy content in it (as with a lot of things in the BL genre), but it's mostly a lovely established relationship story with a lot of bittersweet feels, with flashbacks to how the couple got together. 

It’s necessarily a "happy" story either, though, because they're in a loving, committed relationship in a society where they can't be open about that, and it takes a toll. They're doing their best to work through the difficulties together.

Ai no Kusabi 

SERIOUS WARNINGS FOR THIS ONE.

It's about a society with "Blondies" as the elite ruling class and dark-haired "Mongrels" from the slums. There's slavery, plus some serious sexual consent issues...which I found extra prevalent in the newer version (prettier animation but much more cringey on the content).

The 90s version has rougher animation but a more interesting story. The relationship is still not necessarily healthy, but it reads as a lot more of a forbidden love BDSM relationship.

Even so, the ending is SUPER unhappy. I cannot emphasize that enough. I was watching all these things on my own without any warnings, so this one hit me really hard, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days after. I’m not sure if I'd watch it again, but I've had interesting conversations with others who did.

I guess what I liked about it is that it’s a very different kind of story - and like I said earlier, it’s nice to have variety in genres. As long as every story isn’t dark and tragic, it’s worthwhile to sometimes experience ones that are told well. And weirdly (since this is not something I would watch with my family) it reminded me to some extent of the movies I grew up with - the 80s and early 90s had a lot of dark sci-fi, and my family really loved watching them, so there’s something...nostalgic about how disturbing it is? Thanks parents. At least this one’s gay.

Gakuen Heaven

To pull us back from the darker content, here’s one that I guess was adapted from a dating computer game. As far as I can remember, it was pretty free of cw; fun but not as emotionally engaging as some of the others. It’s pretty much just a fluffy story about a boys’ school on an island with a mystery plot and a romance.

MANGA RECS

I sprinkled some manga recs alongside the relevant anime, but here are a few others that I’ve only experienced in book form. (I’ve got one on my nightstand right now that I need to read, but if it’s good I’ll just update this post I guess, I’ve put this reply off for long enough.)

OUR DINING TABLE

Unlike a lot of the other manga I’ve read, this is a single volume, which means it has a nice, solid conclusion that wraps everything up wonderfully and doesn’t leave you any room to worry that the author will insert unnecessary drama down the line. (That’s an issue, ok? It happens a lot.)

A very soft, sweet romance that’s actually a lot more about building family - which is something that hugely appeals to me. Highly recommend. Loved it, bought it, will definitely reread it. I’d love to see it eventually made into a movie, like Doukyusei.

MY BROTHER’S HUSBAND

This is a hefty book - I ordered it after seeing a joke-tweet about the live action adaptation (which I haven’t been able to find to watch online). I was surprised by the size of the book but even more (pleasantly!) surprised by its contents. I’m not familiar with the author’s other works, although I’ve heard this is the uh....softest and sweetest of his writing. It’s honestly way more uplifting and healing than I was expecting.

Again, it’s largely about family: a quiet, very private Japanese dad dealing with a visit from his deceased (estranged) twin’s extroverted and cheery Canadian husband. This could go down some very dark paths, but it really doesn’t...there are some smatterings of homophobia mixed in, since that’s sort of the point, but there’s a lot of wonderful self-discovery and building new family bonds.

OUR DREAMS AT DUSK

Oh man. This series. Irene Koh (Legend of Korra comics illustrator) recommended it on twitter, and I picked up the first volume from my library and then could not stop. All four volumes are now out in official translations, and they’re so, so good.

These are definitely on the more realistic side - less of an idealized, prejudice-free view of the world, with more of an accurate picture of what it’s like to be not-straight in Japan.

And I phrase it that way because there’s a lot of variety in the characters in these books. The main character is gay - just coming to terms with the fact that he is, because life would be so much easier if he didn’t have a crush on the hot guy at school.

Content warning: it gets so bad at school, in fact, that he starts out the book planning to commit suicide. It’s dark. But it gets much better, and by the final volume he’s grown so much in his confidence and sense of self-worth - because he becomes a part of a community of other people who teach him that it’s okay to be himself.

And all the other storylines are wonderful. Some of the other characters you get to know include a trans guy, an ace woman, two girls who (spoilers!) get married in the fourth volume, and a much older gay guy who’s been with his partner for several decades.

It’s not a fluffy story - there’s some really tough material throughout, and people aren’t always nice, even the ones you really, really want to be - but they also learn and work hard at communicating with each other. I think these are pretty extraordinary books. Beautiful and heartbreaking but also deeply affirming.

[yukusaki]

Hi I've been trying to learn the Japanese language for quite a while, I've been using Memrise and NHK Japan but i am having trouble with their grammar and I'm not sure if I ever made progress. Now, I don't know what's my next step to improve. Do you have any recommendations? I hope u had a good day :>

And to no one's surprise. I wrote an actual novel on the topic.

I'll give you some resources but I recommend trying out different kinds to see what works for you. Learning about your own learning style may also help--for example, I'm a very hands-on learner so I can read about grammar rules all day but until I actually try to put together my own sentences using those rules and get some feedback on what's right and what's not, I Will Not be able to use those rules effectively. Also I have no motivation so I don't study on my own unless I'm working towards a goal (such as the JLPT or answering an ask)

I started with the Pimsleur program, recorded audio lessons that were at my library to check out. You'll learn phrases mostly, but it does not go into detail about grammar and you will learn nothing about writing. If you're mostly concerned about grammar you can definitely skip this one. You can try programs and apps like Duolingo, Rosetta Stone. etc. Duolingo is a bit better about grammar rules and stuff but depending how in-demand the course is, it might not explain anything (try the PC version if it doesn't). I personally think apps like this are good for basic grammar and stuff but once you get more advanced you need More.

Textbooks are actually not a bad way to self-study. I used Genki in my first 2 years of Japanese at university and it's supposed to be one of the best. There's also so so many resources online now. Follow some blogs and get bite-sized tips during your leisure time.

Now, for how I like, Actually learned a lot of my Japanese before I started learning it in organized classes. Listen to music, look through the lyrics, pick out some words you hear a lot and look them up. Watch drama/anime/movies/etc and do the same. Or just put on the subs and don't really pay attention to the audio. I generally have a pretty good ear for pronunciation and intonation already but I attribute how often I get comments on my pronunciation to how much time I spent in my weeb days just hearing naturally-spoken Japanese even if I wasn't totally paying attention. I always recommend exposing yourself to as much content as possible, even in the early stages of learning.

I've got some general study tips on my blog (search studytips) that should help. If nothing else, remember to not burn yourself out. Learning vocab for 5 minutes a day is better than studying 2 hours one day ond taking a 2-month break.

One thing I might not have mentioned in those tips that I feel like more people need to be aware of: a lot of programs are like "learn naturally by immersion like you learned your native language! Just hear phrases and you will Understand the grammar eventually!" okay but like your brain goes through a critical period for language learning when you're like 2. You are (presumably) no longer 2. Your brain is not the same as it was when you were 2. You should not expect to learn the same way as you did then. I read somewhere that being able to learn rules is the one advantage the adult brain has over a child's brain when it comes to second language learninp. So what this means in practice is: when you come across some grammar thing you don't get, don't let people tell you "oh you'll get it in time, you'll just Know." Look that shit up! What's the difference between は wa and が ga? There a literal list of rules you can memorize! (I don't have a link, it was a handout from one of my classes, sorry!) Familiarizing yourself with English grammar even helps to learn how to apply those rules to a new language. Learn the difference between a subject and an object and all that good stuff. You have different resources now as a not-2-year-old so use them!!

Finally, some resources I personally use:

Kanji draw (app): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.lusil.android.kanjidraw.jlpt5 (not sure if there's an IOS version sorry)--like flashcards for kanji but makes you actually write it, and with correct stroke order which I promise makes them easier to remember (and this was the only app I found that actually checks you for accurate writing). It has some algorithm for how often you see each character that is fantastic for memorization--more often when you first learn a character and after you get it wrong, less often once you know it well, introduces new characters gradually but keeps the old ones in rotation for a while so you never get thrown into a set of 20 completely new kanji.

find you a good dictionary app--I can't find the one I use on the app store but I can search in kana/kanji or romaji or English, any conjugation of a verb or adjective, and find what I'm looking for. Also has a kanji lookup tool with radicals.

Google translate--yeah, for real. I use this one when I want to scan a large section of text for something specific. Or when I'm writing a long sentence that I want to doublecheck. Also has a kanji lookup tool you can handwrite in, and of course don't forget the camera translation tool.

honyakustar (website)--a website with a lot of sentences in both Japanese and English. I use it All The Time to figure out how a word is actually used in practice--what particles it uses, if it's formal or informal, if it's stative or dynamic, collocations, etc.

Hellotalk (app)--it's super well known, just google it. A social app for chatting with native speakers of your target language.

Common Japanese Collocations by Kakuko Shoji (book)--collocations are words that "go" together naturally. We say "take" a bath, Japanese says "enter" a bath (お風呂に入る). This book is a good reference for looking up these collocations.

The Basics of Japanese Grammar: Verbs (book)--I downloaded this on my nook in high school for like 2 dollars and 50 cents give or take and it pleased my rule-oriented brain greatly. just has like all the verb conjugations with short explanations and example sentences and stuff.

Thanks for your question! Feel free to ask me anything!💕

[polandspringz]

I read your essay, but I was more concerned by how Diavolo and Simeon acted in the event than whether the devs were wrong for making it. Simeon obviously for his sneaky behavior and Diavolo for basically saying he wishes his alleged best friend had fallen under the same non consensual mind control spell as his brothers because it would be fun to see a new side of him, even though Lucifer clearly hates to lose control of himself. I know he would not enjoy that as much as Diavolo would, and I can't help but wonder if he actually cares about Lucifer. In events Diavolo is often messing around with the brothers, kinda using them for his own amusement, but this event really brought that into focus. It might not be as big of a deal as it feels to me because I'm kinda sensitive about stuff like mind manipulation for some reason, I can't help but be mad at him for basically not caring at all, which is disappointing since they just released all that stuff for the side characters... What are your thoughts on this?

I want to preface this by saying technically I am have not started lessons 21-40. I am aware of the events that happened in them, but have not played through them for myself, so I can’t necessarily comment on a lot of Diavolo’s character development in the recent lessons.

I think it’s fine to be uncomfortable with how the characters acted. Writing should evoke emotion, both good and bad. My post ended up going more into people being mad at the creators because I’ve been seeing that build up for months now, and just thought that now was a particularly trivial reason (and I didn’t want people to start attacking the devs for something that I think was just being misunderstood). Like you though, I did not like Diavolo and Simeon’s actions in this event either.

When I first read what the bangles did, my thought was that the characters were actually going to the Celestial Realm for a party, and that the bangles would just keep them from acting out while there and corrupting other angels or causing a scene. Simeon’s characters I think has just been always a bit more complicated than the pure angel that much of the fandom reduces him too (when I saw a screenshot of him saying “Did he just discover a new kink?” from a previous event, I was shocked.) We know about the Celestial Realm from the brothers’ talking about Lilith that the angels were aware of the human realm and it’s culture (although some of it is anachronistic in terms of them knowing about manga back when the War happened thousands of years ago), and so it seems that the story’s version of angels are not the way we normally see angels portrayed in media (100% good, never faltering), but instead are just like humans that are usually very good and selfless but capable of doing bad things. I think this brings up a good point with Simeon’s character about how hypocritical he acted during this event, forcing the characters to act good when he himself has committed what in, at least Christian interpretations, could be viewed as wrong (not necessarily a sin) but more of a bystander issue. During the main story even, he often is just standing back while the rest of the characters are having trouble, he’ll often just find amusement in what’s going on rather than step in to help. I think this brings to mind that theme again of questioning what is good and evil in the lens of this type of story. Lastly, I forget where I read it, but in the past I did extensive research on angels for my own writing, and I remember a detail in one interpretation of them that “angels often got into disagreements with one another” and that God had to step in to help resolve them. I think this is an interesting thing to point out that angels themselves are not 100% pure or perfect, and are just of capable of committing sins like the demons, (as that is what leads to them becoming demons to begin with). In the frame of this story, I think the way Simeon acted in this event and how he normally takes amusement in seeing the brothers’ struggle may be indicative of future story lines that may highlight through our perspective with the demons, that the Celesital Realm is not good and that we may actually see a character fall. I know the popular fan interpretation is Simeon, but I actually see Luke as the one who could stay behind in Devildom.

Now, in terms of Diavolo- I think he has always been a manipulator too. Although he enjoys spending time with Lucifer, we know from the story in Lessons 1-20 that in exchange for Lilith being saved, Lucifer had to swear himself to him. Diavolo and Lucifer cannot ever have a true friendship because of this, and although we are viewing the story through a lens that makes us more partial and sympathetic towards the demons, that doesn’t meant that all the demons are in that view. Diavolo from the start seems/acts like a nicer ruler than the one the Celestial Realm has purely because he gave the brothers refuge when they fell. He lets them be their true selves rather than hold them to strict, righteous standards (standards that this event showed are not even what the angels themselves are held to, thus making Simeon’s actions hypocritical). However, as much as he may seem to be friends with Lucifer, we have to remember that Lucifer and his agreement was not one of friendship, and their perceived friendship is much more one that has just been forged by happenstance of them being around each other for so long. I’ve incorporated this discussion on Lucifer and Diavolo’s relationship into a few of my fanfictions for this series, and I truly think that Diavolo wanting to see Lucifer act under a mind controlled spell is completely within his character. After all, he already has control over Lucifer in some ways, he already has power over him. Why would forcing Lucifer to act a certain way be any different of him?

I can understand why this still makes people uncomfortable. I think at a certain point in stories and through fandom culture, when we consume stories in small pieces and then discuss them at large, it allows for many more views and interpretations. (Like a big book club!) However, I think a problem can occur if the largely vocal aspects of that discussion circle are overtly negative or angered about something within the media, as it normally does not fuel a positive discussion about the work (as in, constructive discussion, not positive as in considering the work perfect with no flaws) but instead can quickly spiral into a hate circle. Works can cause you to experience emotion and feel conflicted about things, which is a good thing. However, when you then discuss those things with others, I wish I saw more people not being so strong with their language in discussions of “I hate all these things” without talking about why or examining it. I probably sound very pretentious with all this, but like I said in my previous post, I think this is just one example of a greater problem in all fandom culture. I guess a more clearer example of this would be that the fact that the “book club” has people from so many different ages and backgrounds, but no one to moderate like in socratic seminar or no one who knows the ultimate, true answer (even though there never is one to writing, but with classics and established books we tend to all agree on main themes, symbols, and points that we find more valuable or more central to discuss) and what can often happen is members of the circle with less maturity or less experience in consuming media become the more vocal groups and refuse to hear other sides, thus spawning more negativity and preventing more discussion.

I promise that last bit wasn’t directed at you at all! I just thought of it was a good way to sum up my whole thoughts at the end. I’m glad you messaged me asking for my thoughts on Diavolo, and just to end off, I think we cannot mistake that there might be a culture difference in Japanese creators making a romance story. Like how Belphegor is categorized as the “yandere” character, some Japanese players may prefer Diavolo fitting some trope that has more negative, darker connotations. (Although it’s only hitting Japan now, the game itself is Japanese. I still don’t know why it was released to the western market first, but usually Japan is the predominant market). Anyway, that’s all the thoughts I have more now. If you have any more questions, I would be happy to follow up on anything I said here!

[nad-zeta]

Hello! May I request a match up for the warlords please? I am on the chubby side with curly auburn hair. I am a little socially awkward, and shy when I first met someone. However, once I get comfortable around them I am a full on goofy nerd. I love baking, drawing, singing, and reading (when I can pay attention long enough) I love plants and animals tho I have the opposite of a green thumb I worry over my friends, but try not to be pushy I'm a wonderful listener even tho I talk a lot Thank you!

Hi, there love! Thank you so much for the request! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed it and soz for making you wait soooooo long☀<3 I hope ya have a good day! ❤

So I match you with................ Shingen

I was definitely having some trouble matching you up lolz cause I can easily see you fitting with Nobunaga, Sasuke or Shingen but I eventually settled on Shingen

The first time this boi sees you he thinks that a beautiful angel has descended from heaven to grace him with her presence. The way your Auburn hair shines and shimmers in the moonlight has this boi absolutely enchanted. You are a little frightened of the men in front of you, having just barely escaped the clutches of death moments prior. You see a familiar face among the unknowns. The nerdy scientist approaches you and fills you in on all the gaps! You were a pretty nerdy person yourself, so the concept of time travel wasn’t anything new to you. Shingen couldn’t help but cut into your conversation with the meme lord to offer you a place to stay at their castle. Kenshin who was standing right next to him looked very displeased “Why are you lot always inviting people to stay in MY castle, I’m not running an orphanage you know”. To that Shingen simply laughed and patted his old friend on the shoulder “Don’t mind him, my angel, he is always grumpy when he hasn’t had a cup of sake in a few days”. And so you, Sasuke and the strange group of men travelled back to Kasugayama Castle. Shingen provided you with a big room fit for a princess. Even Kenshin came around to your room to find out if you needed anything.

You were incredibly shy and socially awkward at first which was definitely no problem for someone as flirty and outgoing as Shingen. He would slowly coax you out your shell with the funniest jokes and cheesiest pickup lines. Honestly, you couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculously cheesy pickup lines. And boy, oh boy, did your smile and laugh do something to Shingen’s hearts. This playboy is no stranger to the ways of wooing a woman. Still, it is definitely the first time he has actually felt some kind of emotion when doing it, there was also the fact that his flirty compliments were more genuine with you, than the ones he would usually fling to women. Any chance this boy would get he would pester you, whether it is taking you out to tea or shopping in the markets, there was just something about you that caused him to gravitate towards you.

As you better got to know the people of Kasugayama Castle, you couldn’t help but want to do something nice for them as a thank you for taking you in, so you decided to put your talents to good use. You loved baking, and after Sasuke showed you their very well equipt kitchen, you got to work. You were so excited to present your thank you gifts to them at that night’s banquet. You had made an array of pickled plumb dishes for Kenshin. Sweet buns for Yukimura and Shingen. And Sasuke and Yoshimoto favourite Japanese cheesecake. You presented the tasty dishes to them with a smile, and your face lit up in complete happiness to see them eating it with bright smiles on their faces. Even Kenshin gave you the prettiest smile saying that from now on you were to make the pickled pump accompaniments for him at every banquet.  You keenly watched Shingen as he popped one of the sticky buns in his mouth, and you couldn’t help but beam up him after you saw how much he enjoyed it. “We are truly blessed this evening to be graced by the goddess of delish baked goods”. You couldn’t help but blush a little as all the warlords nodded in agreement

You held a soft spot in all the warlord’s hearts, even Kenshin who gave you a small patch of garden to tend to after he found out that you loved to garden. Although unfortunately you by no means had green fingers. You were thankful for Shingen who helped you nurse the poor plants back to health, not that he minded cause the more time he could spend with his angel the better. The two of you would spend so much time together. You loved animals so you would often be found playing with Kenshin’s little bunnies in the garden or cuddling Shingen’s baby bear. Shingen would spot you in the garden and decide to join you. He would watch you play with the bunnies and bear cub while doing some carpentry. When the sun would get too hot, he would lead you to the garden gazebo to have some tea and sweets together. The two of you slowly started to fall in love. Shingen loved everything about you, from your nerdy personality to your gentle, loving nature.

He loves chatting with you as you talk his ears off for hours and hours. He loved that you would feistily speak your mind during war councils. You often shocked everyone when you would state your opinions fearlessly to the god of war. Mind you, you are probably the only person other than Sasuke who could do so without having your head detached from your shoulders. Luckily for you, the bunny lord has a soft spot for you, even going as far as to call you his dearest sister.

You were an excellent listener and incredibly compassionate, something that Shingen absolutely loved about you. He told you all about his past, and the reason why he hates Nobunaga so much. You were actually the one who encouraged him to reach out to Kennyo as a friend once more. And he was thankful for that little push, as he managed to bring his dear friend from the dark ledge he was on and back into the light. You also managed to find a cure for Shingen’s illness with Sasuke Whoop whoop.

Singen absolutely adored his clumsy little goddess. He would shower you with love from the moment you wake up till the moment you go to bed. He loves to spend every waking moment with the angel who had not only saved his life but, has brought so much light and love into his life. The two of you love to spend time with each other even if it means just doing your own thing together in his room. He would often do the admin part of being a warlord while you read or write. You love the way his face lights up when you sneakily slip a freshly written love letter on his desk. He would read and savour every word, while immediately writing you one back.

What does Shingen love the most about you you may ask, well that’s easy…. Shinegen loves to trap this beloved angel in his arms and listen to your melodious voice singing him songs from your hometown. He could listen to that beautiful voice of yours for hours. The second he hears your beautiful voice or sees your beautiful face the stress of the day is instantly chased away by the presence of your bright light

The two of you, cuties can often be found in each other’s arms just nestled together. You absolutely love the feeling of Shingen pulling his fingers through your silky soft hair. And Shingen adores it when you sneakily steal a kiss or two from his lips during these quiet times

Other potential matches…………………… Sasuke

Hope you enjoyed it, dear, and I hope you are keeping safe and well! ❤❤🔥

[pens-swords-stuff]

Hi! I'm rly curious now seeing that you're bilingual in Japanese & English. That is amazing! I'm currently trying to learn Japanese & it's a little overwhelming. :p But I love the language, so I don't want to give up! You don't have to answer this, but are you from Japan or another country? :) How do you keep up with writing Japanese if ur from another country, as I would think u could forget a lot if u don't write it as much (even as a native), but I could wrong?

Both of my parents are from Japan — I was born and raised in America.

My parents were very dedicated to me learning, experiencing and being connected to the Japanese language and culture, even though most of my life is spent in America. It was a household rule to only speak Japanese at home; I attended Japanese school (a school meant for Japanese students to learn the Japanese curriculum, not a school to learn Japanese that most non-Japanese-speakers would attend) every single Saturday from Kindergarten, all the way until I graduated the high school there; I went to Japan every summer; I grew up reading Japanese books, watching Japanese TVs and movies...

While it’s true that a lot of people might forget how to read/write Japanese — I know several people that used to know and can no longer do either of those things — I personally believe that I am far beyond that point. Speaking, reading and writing Japanese are every bit a part of me as English is because my family and I have very carefully cultivated and maintained that skill throughout my entire life.

Am I the best at writing the language? No, not really. I probably know less kanji than the average Japanese person, and my Japanese prose skills are extremely lacking in comparison to me writing English. But I know enough to be able to read age-appropriate Japanese books — and since I’m an adult, that would be most books meant for a general over-20 audience — and if I don’t know what a word is or how to read it, I know how to either look it up, or use context clues from the sentence and the actual kanji itself to understand it.

In terms of writing, I know I have hiragana and katakana down pat, and I likely will never forget that. Kanji is a slightly different story though, and considering that it’s natural for native Japanese people living in Japan to forget some here and there, I think I’m in a good place. I know how to read and write most of the kanjis that every average Japanese person learns through high school, but I don’t doubt that compared to a Japanese person living in Japan, I have a bit more trouble with the writing part of it. 

That’s where typing has been extremely helpful to me. When I type in Japanese, I can use all of the kanji just fine because it appears on the screen and I can select the correct one because I can recognize what is correct and incorrect — my reading skill is much better than my writing skill. And when I actually have to put a pen to paper, I will often write it out on my phone or computer first to have an example in front of me so I can know for certain that I’m not making any errors.

In my experience, you only really forget things if you stop practicing them. I’m not the most practiced person, or a particularly talented Japanese writer, but I’ve spent a huge chunk of my life practicing Japanese speaking, reading and writing — and I continue to do so. Even when I’m not actively practicing writing the language, I’m reading it, I’m hearing it, and I’m otherwise engaging in it. I’ve been working with the Japanese language well before the age 7 — which is the end of the critical period for language learning and development — and because I’ve spent so much time with the language, I don’t believe I’ll ever lose it entirely. Maybe some pieces like kanjis I don’t use might fade or have already faded, but at this point, I don’t think I’ll ever really be unable to write Japanese in any way shape or form unless something happens to my brain.

If you grew up speaking, reading, and writing English for 20+ years of your life, and you moved to Spain where you only used Spanish for and haven’t used English for several years... Do you think you would forget how to write in English? Probably not. You might be rusty, you might make mistakes, but your English-language knowledge doesn’t go away that easily.

Now all that being said, I am a bit unsatisfied with my Japanese writing skills so I’ve been trying to do it more. I have a couple of workbooks for some lower level Kanji exams that I’ve been using to not only practice my kanji knowledge, but also to improve my handwriting which is atrocious in Japanese. I usually don’t try to do creative writing in Japanese, but I’ve recently started a very minor project in an attempt to improve my actual Japanese storytelling skills that my mother lovingly describes as ‘elementary school level’.

[thetaekswoon]

Hi 😆 Can I have a ship with BTS, please? I'm very carefree, open and happy in general. I'm the type to say ok to anything without Any regrets. I tend to be easy to read and be able to get over lostp/sadness faster than others. Friends say I'm bubbly, funny, approachable and reliable. I'm very forgetful and pretty lazy. Observing people, arts, languages CHOCOLATE and a long nice walk are LOVE❤️ Just no bugs. I get scare easily but horror movies are my fav! Thank you!

Hi!  I believe you already sent me in this ship request before!  If you want a ship for another group I’ll gladly do it (I do ships for VIXX, Astro, BTS, GOT7, Monsta X, Seventeen and NCT) .  Otherwise here is the ship I did for you last time:

Hi!  Thanks so much for sending this in.

For BTS I ship you with…

Ok so Rapmonster and you are really cute and always try to encourage each other to try and do new things.  And that’s actually how you two meet!  I feel like you decided to sign up for a language class at your community center, something like Mandarin, German or Japanese, really it didn’t matter what language you learned, you just wanted to expand your knowledge of the world since language excite you so much, be able to one day have a pretty awesome vacation and add something different on your resume.  As it turns out Rapmon also takes the class with you and you two hit it off immediately, not necessarily romantic at first, but you became fast friends.  You are always in awe how quickly Rapmon adapts when learning a new language, and when you start struggling a little bit he offers to tutor you.  The first tutoring session goes great!  You were able to master a certain tense, correct your pronunciation, and yah know… also make out with your super cute super sweet super unbelievable tutor.

As for Monsta X I ship you with…

Hyungwon and you are super into skinship, you two are the skinship couple, always holding hands (though you mostly prefer holding only a few of his fingers when you walk because your hands are so small compared to his and it’s super duper cute), hugging, playing with each other’s hair, him giving you piggyback rides, cuddling on the couch, cheek kisses, sharing drinks, falling asleep on top of each other, I CAN GO ON BUT THE POINT IS THAT YOU TWO ARE RIDICULOUSLY INTO EACH OTHER AND ARE THE SKINSHIP COUPLE ALRIGHT?!??  You make it a point to always sleep over at the dorm whenever you can which is literally all the time and tbh it kinda bothers the manager (but they don’t say anything cause whenever you do Hyungwon always seems more active during practice which is something that he struggles with cause he’s always sleepy), and definitely bothers the other members.  Like you’re over there so often why do you even have your own place?  You should just move into Hyungwon’s bunk already lol.

And finally for Seventeen I ship you with…

You and The8 have been really close friends (best friends cough cough) almost your entire lives, and you never really felt any feelings for him then, but when he moves to Korea to become an idol it finally dawns on you just how much he means to you, and how much you love him.  Despite how hard it is for you guys to keep up your friendship with each other you guys manage by video chatting during the hours when he’s not busy, texting each other constant updates on what’s happening, and during this time you can just feel yourself falling deeper and deeper.  tbh The8 has had a crush on you since you guys were 10 years old, but hasn’t said or done anything for so many years to keep your friendship intact.  However that is until one day while video chatting you let it slip that you love him, and well that wouldn’t be that strange since you have been saying that to each other for years, but the way you said it was like the real thing and it was different and both of you could tell instantly.  Out of embarrassment you hung up and avoided talking to him for a week, the longest you two have ever gone without talking, and then one day you hear a knock on your door and you answer it expecting it to be your neighbor or literally anyone else, but there’s The8.  AND HE KISSES YOU!  Turns out he technically ran away to a different country to see you and will most likely be in so much trouble that you cannot even imagine, but he does and he kisses you and I guess that makes you a couple from then on.

I do not own the pictures I really hope you enjoyed this!  I kinda went a little crazy lol.  Anyway I’d love your feedback!