#KAMIJO Calendar | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

christine-ye · 1 day ago

Text

Kamen Rider Blade character name meanings

I was watching an anime lyric video on YouTube last night and recognized one of the kanji in the lyrics also being used for one of the main characters' names in Blade and ended up falling down a rabbit hole (aka Jisho.org) so I made a guide breaking down the Blade cast's names because 1. when do I ever not think about this show and 2. language stuff is fun to look into (also included Shiori and Kotaro because why not, slight spoilers incoming)

♠ Kazuma Kenzaki (剣崎一真)/Kamen Rider Blade ♠

Kenzaki (剣崎): ken (剣) - sword (spade itself also derives from the Spanish and Italian spada meaning 'sword'); zaki (崎) - small peninsula, promontory

Kazuma (一真): kazu (一) - one; ma (真) - true/truth, reality, genuineness (could refer to Kenzaki's genuine love for humanity and eventually Hajime); both characters together could mean "one truth" (could refer to Kenzaki seeking the one true way to allow Hajime to keep living without having the world be destroyed during the finale) or "one reality" (could refer to the current nature of the Battle Fight preventing Kenzaki and Hajime from seeing each other again despite them defying their fates)

Blade: the main part of a sword whose name is derived from the Old English blæd meaning 'leaf' (also hence why the spade is replaced with the leaf in German playing cards), related to the Suit of Swords (Spades) in the Minor Arcana

♦ Sakuya Tachibana (橘朔也)/Kamen Rider Garren ♦

Tachibana (橘): mandarin orange (specifically the Citrus tachibana, also explains why one of his themed drinks from the Kamen Rider Diner was orange-flavored)

Sakuya (朔也): saku (朔) - new moon (symbolizes new beginnings in astrology, which ties into Tachibana's return to being Garren again after initially trying to quit and his character song literally being called Rebirth), the first day of the lunar calendar; ya (也) - to be (classical form), also a common suffix in Japanese male names

Garren: either a corruption of the English word 'currency' in Japanese or phonetically sounds similar to the French carreau meaning 'diamond' (might be a stretch though), related to the Suit of Coins (Diamonds) in the Minor Arcana

♥ Hajime Aikawa (相川始)/Kamen Rider Chalice ♥

Aikawa (相川): ai (相) - mutuality, togetherness (also phonetically sounds the same as the Japanese word for love, which ties into Hajime's character arc and Chalice's heart motif); kawa (川) - river, stream; both characters together could mean "river of mutuality" or "river of togetherness"

Hajime (始): beginning (ironically contrasts his true role as humanity's destroyer)

Chalice: holy cup or goblet whose name is derived from the Latin calix meaning 'cup', related to the Suit of Cups (Hearts) in the Minor Arcana (also symbolic of Hajime's growing love and humanness throughout the show)

♣ Mutsuki Kamijo (上条睦月)/Kamen Rider Leangle ♣

Kamijō (上条): kami (上) - above, up; jō (条) - article, clause

Mutsuki (睦月): mutsu (睦) - intimate, friendly, harmonious (could refer to Mutsuki learning to control the Spider Undead's power with Tachibana's help); tsuki (月) - moon, month; both characters together mean the ancient Japanese name for January

Leangle: an Aboriginal club/polearm-type weapon, related to the Suit of Wands (Clubs) in the Minor Arcana

💻 Shiori Hirose (広瀬栞) 💻

Hirose (広瀬): hiro (広) - vast, broad, spacious; se (瀬) - rapids

Shiori (栞): bookmark, guidebook (could refer to her role as the gang's resident Undead tracker and Kenzaki's closest ally at BOARD)

🥛 Kotaro Shirai (白井虎太郎) 🥛

Shirai (白井): shira (白) - white (callback to his love for milk mayhaps /j); i (井) - well, town, community (could refer to him befriending and providing hospitality for Kenzaki and Shiori after BOARD kicks the bucket, also farmhouse trio ftw)

Kotarō (虎太郎): ko (虎) - tiger, drunkard (for milk obviously /j); ta (太) - thick; rō (郎) - common suffix in Japanese male names

#kamen rider #kamen rider blade #kazuma kenzaki #kenzaki kazuma #kamen rider garren #sakuya tachibana #tachibana sakuya #kamen rider chalice #hajime aikawa #aikawa hajime #kamen rider leangle #mutsuki kamijo #kamijo mutsuki #shiori hirose #hirose shiori #kotaro shirai #shirai kotaro #credits to the kr wiki and jisho.org (+ the many dictionaries i stumbled along the way) for the extra info/insight!#notice how kenzaki and hajime's names relate to their respective tarot motifs #while tachibana and mutsuki's names relate to the moon/lunar month #also satsuki (mutsuki's successor in the blade novel) appears to be named after the ancient japanese name for may #weirdly searching up leangle turned up (heh) blanks for me other than the kr wiki so idk how they found that info #i saw a youtube comment saying garren is also likely a corruption of 'galleon' but idk how much that holds water since i'm not john toei #i was considering including the missing ace riders here as well but idk #kinda want to do a similar post for the faiz cast

35 notes · View notes

wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago

Text

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10

Alright, where did we leave off… oh yeah, Kyoko sacrificed herself to take down Witch-Sayaka, leaving only Homura and Muggle Madoka against the SuperWitch that’s coming. So in other words, everything’s terrible, as per the standard state of affairs.

Abridged!Alucard: “But enough focusing on the past. Instead, let’s focus on the past!”

But now, Homura backstory, if I understood the last credits teaser right! Finally, we get to see her in the previous timeline, how she became a Magical Girl. Let’s get to it!

I Won’t Rely On Anyone Anymore

A girl in a school uniform fiddling with a black ribbon-

…

...what.

No, seriously, what?

That is not Homura.

This girl, with glasses and massive pigtails and nervous fiddling, stammering through an introduction to the class? Who’s getting back to school after a hospital trip, and is behind on her studies? You are not Homura, you are-

Madoka! I see Madoka in the classroom! Hey, Madoka!

Ahem. As I was saying, this little meek girl? This is Homura, the Mysterious Transfer Student, the Magical Girl, the Time Traveler?

...what the hell happened to her? What is Urobuchi going to do to her to turn her into the Homura I thought was the villain at first?

This is going to be a painful episode, isn’t it? I was all braced for analytical Homura, not someone even meeker than Madoka. I’m already trying to find the Incubator and punch it, if it’s responsible for turning this quiet girl into the Vulcan.

Oh, hold up. I remember this! This is the first episode all over again! Homura’s surrounded by classmates like before, but instead of cooly sidestepping their questions Homura’s all flustered and nervous from the attention.

Whoa, Madoka for the save! Our Protagonist swoops in and makes the excuse that Miss Akemi is supposed to get some medicine, and acts as the Nurse’s Aide to get her out of the questioning.

My god, it is the first episode again, but they’ve switched positions! Now Homura is the uncertain follower, although Madoka is being much more talkative than Homura was when she tried to give a warning.

Jeez, I don’t know what to do with this outgoing Madoka. I mean, she’s nice and savvy enough to help Homura out of an uncomfortable situation, but it’s a jarring change from the shell shocked Madoka we’ve had the past few episodes. A good change, don’t get me wrong, just odd.

Madoka says Homura should just call her by her first name, and asks if she can do the same to Homura. Homura stammers out that she doesn’t get called by her first name that much, and she thinks it’s weird. Madoka is quick to exclaim that having a name meaning “flame” isn’t weird, it’s cool!

...her name means “flame”? I’m trying to reconcile “flame” and “cold calculating Mysterious Transfer Student”, but I’m not seeing it.

In the face of Madoka’s enthusiasm, Homura mumbles that she must not be living up to her name, which causes Madoka to spin around- Hey, it’s the Hallway Scene! It’s the “spin around and say something shocking” scene from the first episode, only instead of a warning, Madoka’s trying to encourage Homura to live up to her name!

I just want to say for the record that I love this reversal of the first episode, Madoka trying to encourage Homura to change rather than Homura trying to discourage Madoka from changing.

The reversals keep coming, like Homura struggling with math because she’s been out of school for so long (and practically crying from embarrassment in front of all the class, it is so weird to see Homura like this) and apparently getting light-headed from basic exercises and mocked by the other students. Jeez, bedridden for half a year? What the heck happened to Homura to put her in the hospital that long?

It’s evening now, Homura’s walking along a bridge thinking about Madoka’s encouragement that she become cool to match her name… and dismissing it because she “can’t do anything right”. Aw jeez, seeing her without confidence…

AW HELL NO! Another voice just popped up saying it’d be better if she died right now, and the art’s going all weird. Labyrinth! Witch!... but this is the previous timeline, so we know she’ll get out of this. But how?

Wait. Wait wait wait. I know that gun! I KNOW THAT GUN!

She’s back. Our Lady Mami, the Girl With A Thousand Guns, is back. Hell. Fucking. Yes.

Wait, glove? Bow?

Heck yeah, the awesome music is back, and the Witch’s minions just got bound by thread. And we finally get to see-

What. Mami’s there, and… a girl in a pink dress with pink hair.

That is Madoka. That is our Protagonist, with powers. I am both in love with this and sick to my stomach at the knowledge that Madoka has Contracted.

And yep, there’s the little jerk! Homura’s in shock over seeing these girls suddenly show up and stop the monsters, and now there’s a little Bunny-Cat, spouting off some exposition. Madoka jokingly says Homura’s discovered their secret and asks her not to tell the rest of the class, and then starts shooting light arrows again. Witch goes boom.

Mami’s place! I missed this apartment and the extravagant cakes. Homura’s asking about what the heck she just saw. Madoka says that Mami’s the veteran of the duo, and that she just made her Contract with the Incubator last week. Homura’s quick to question if they get scared, and Madoka responds that of course she gets scared. “But the more witches we slay, the more people we can save.” Aw, it’s the old idealistic view of Magical Girls, before the Incubator’s true nature showed.

Homura perks up at Madoka’s hero talk. After all, if a magical hero like Madoka says that she can live up to her name, then maybe she has a chance…

Wait, I just realized. Where’s Sayaka? Does she show up after Homura in the baseline?

Oh, crap. Mami’s talking about training Madoka up before Walpurgisnacht arrives. Ok, let’s-

Wait, gears? Floating buildings? Flying thing- what the hell?! Walpurgisnacht is here already?! (The shot’s from a distance away, but it looks like an upside down woman in a fancy blue dress, underneath a large gear) But we just saw Homura learn about Magical Girls, Sayaka and Kyoko haven’t even shown up yet. Geez, did the two of them only show up in the later timeline? Are we just going to skip right over Homura contracting?

Madoka? “I’d better go now.” Madoka?! Homura’s crying, afraid to see Madoka fight Wally- oh. Oh hell no. Mami’s dead, again?! But she only just got back a few minutes ago! Don’t do this to me, Urobutcher! Argh argh argh, Madoka’s going off to fight Wally because with Mami down, and apparently Sayaka and Kyoko don’t exist in baseline or got offed offscreen, she’s the only MG left.

And when Homura cries that if she fights alone she’ll be killed… Madoka says that even then, she’s a Magical Girl. She has to protect everyone. Even as Homura cries that there’s nothing they can do, that they should run away… Madoka thanks Homura for becoming friends, and says saving her from the Witch on the bridge is one of her proudest accomplishments. So she’s happy that she became a Magical Girl.

And now, Homura’s crying over a body in water. No. No no no, I refuse, I refuse to accept that that is Madoka dead. It’s all a prank, she’ll jump up and yell “Got you!”, they’ll laugh and go back to class… ok then, I guess this explains why Homura is so standoffish. After seeing a friend die, who would want to put themselves at risk of feeling that pain again? Better to be distant than suffer.

INCUBATOR. FUCK OFF.

Wait. Aw damn, it makes sense now. This is the chance for Homura’s Wish. To prevent Madoka from giving her own life protecting Homura.

“I want to redo my meeting with Miss Kaname. But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to become strong enough to protect her!”

Ooh, a good wish. Not just another chance, but power enough to protect another Magical Girl. For someone who just saw her friend die, pretty well thought-out. And with that, Homura becomes a Lich.

Hoo boy. Well I guess this explains Homura. After seeing that happen, she’s gonna want to try and make the most of this next attempt. Madoka says she should live up to her name? Unbraid her hair and act like ‘cool’ kids in TV shows. Mess around with this magic to make up for her shortfalls in baseline. Since Madoka hasn’t Contracted yet, try to scare her off and prevent Mami from becoming her mentor.

Man, it’s going to be interesting seeing the other episodes from Homura’s view.

Alright, Take Two! Time to save the Protagonist!

Homura wakes up in a light and breezy hospital room, a calendar proclaiming it’s the 16th of whatever month, a “New Student Guide” on the table… and a Soul Gem in her hand. Welcome to the present, Homura. Now for the first episode again!

Wait, what? Why does she still have her pigtails and glasses? I definitely don’t remember seeing those, or a smile on her face. This isn’t the present we saw, so what? She goes back more than once? Did I misunderstand the Wish? “I want to redo my meeting with Miss Kaname.” That’s singular, it doesn’t imply repeated time travel. How would the Wish result in that? And why?

Although… there was a second part to that Wish, wasn’t there? “I want to become strong enough to protect her!” Now that I think about it, all the Wishes I’ve seen so far have been completed on the MG’s end. Mami didn’t die, Kamijo’s hand was healed, Kyoko’s father got people to listen to him. Is it an aspect of Wishes that they must be answered in full? So if Homura doesn’t become strong enough to save Madoka… would it send her back again?

That’s so cool!... but also horrifying when you think about it. I mean, knowing that this is not our timeline, and the Wish can cause her to go back again if she isn’t strong enough… how many times does she go back?

Homura gives a much more enthusiastic greeting to the classroom than last time. And then, as the Teacher starts giving her introduction Homura rushes forward and grabs Homura’s hands.

“Miss Kaname! I’ve become a magical girl too!!”

Flute music’s back! Under an overpass while it’s raining, looks like Madoka and Mami are training this new Magical Girl. Homura’s testing out her time-freezing ability and swinging a golf-club at a barrel… with varying effectiveness. Homura definitely needs more exercise, but you can’t fault her enthusiasm.

Time magic: powerful, but tricky to learn how to fight with it. So what does Homura do? Start making bombs!... Huh, looks like I get to quote one of my favorite Time Loop stories.

On a much more practical note, I’ve also learned about a dozen ways to mix household cleaning supplies into small explosive charges. For the record, I wouldn’t really recommend learning explosive making via trial and error. The error parts tend to be as painful as they are visually impressive.

As I don’t know what exactly causes her to travel back in time, if it’s a fixed point or whatever, I’m running on the assumption that her dying would qualify as “not being strong enough to protect Madoka” and would revert time.

So, now she’s got time travel and pipe bombs. Let’s go fight Witches! This Labyrinth looks laundry-themed, blue skies and shirts on wires. And falling chairs? Homura’s clutching a wire and shrieking as Mami and Madoka easily do Extreme Funambulism, fighting… a bunch of arms in a dress, with ice skate-wearing legs falling from the skirt. Right, can’t forget Witches are weird.

Mami ribbons up a bridge for Homura, who Timestops and jogs forward, throwing a bomb right up the Witch’s… well, the Witch explodes. Good for you, Homura, you killed a Witch! Oh yeah, just remembered that Witches are fallen Magical Girls, because the Incubator is a dick. But for now, Madoka gleefully hugs Homura while Mami grins. Hooray!

Oh go to hell, Urobuchi. So yeah, we go straight from that victory to Madoka lying dead aga- wait, she’s alive! Wait. Wait wait wait. No. NO! Oh god damn it, she’s Witchifying. Yup, our Protagonist just turned into a friggen huge Witch. Homura is understandably in shock.

And it looks like it’s recall-point time travel, after all! And the point is “Madoka dies or becomes a Witch”. Guh. Homura wakes up in her hospital bed. Again. Sees the calendar. Again. And when she looks at her Soul Gem again, it’ll be knowing that it’s the seed of another Witch. Guh!

“Kyubey’s tricking all of you!” Aw, Homura. I know that you know the truth, but how exactly can you prove it? Oh hey, Sayaka’s here! I was wondering if she was only in our timeline or not, seeing as she didn’t show up the other times. But unfortunately, she’s in the pro-Kyubey camp, asking what the Incubator could possibly gain from telling such a lie.

Aw damnit Sayaka. I love you and all, but this suspicious, “I bet you’re just trying to turn us against eachother, newcomer!” attitude is my biggest beef with Paladins. Yep, Sayaka thinks that Homura is working with Kyoko, who I guess is here now. Thankfully Madoka’s the voice of reason, although Sayaka… actually raises a good point. A bomb-user is all well and good with the other team members are ranged, but Sayaka’s stuck in melee as the high-explosives fly past. Looks like Homura needs to upgrade.

More timestoppage, as Homura rifles through a locker room of smoking guys in suits. Some sort of gang, or something? Isn’t the big organized crime thing in Japan the Yakuza? Anyways, Homura’s busy sticking pistols and friggen shotguns in her Hammerspace Pocket. And I so want to see what’s going on behind the shield as she puts the weapons away. Or is it one of those things where it only works if you don’t look directly at it, otherwise she’d just drop it? Give me rules for these magical powers, damnit.

Aw man, and it looks like Sayaka turned into a Witch this time around, too. Although Kyoko’s on their side now, Madoka’s still getting knocked around as she tries to reason with the Witch, Homura actually manages to save her by stopping time and shooting all of the train wheels. And then apologizes as she primes a bomb.

One explosion and destroyed Witch later, the Labyrinth collapses. Looks like they all made it out- oh hey, Mami! She survived this time! Awesome! Still, bad feelings all around, Kyoko’s expressing her grief through frustration and Madoka is flat-out crying. Homura’s- wait what’s that glow

Ribbons? Mami, what are you

Gunshot?! KYOKO?!

NOT AWESOME! NOT AWESOME AT ALL! MAMI WHAT THE FUCK?!

Kyoko’s dead. Kyoko’s dead because her Soul Gem just got shot by Mami, who is crying and shakily pointing her rifle at Homura. “If Soul Gems give birth to Witches, then we have no choice but to die, do we?!” Holy shit, Mami’s lost it. She-

...Madoka just put Mami down.

“I don’t want this! I can’t take any more… of this…!”

And then there were two.

We’re back to the aftermath of Walpurgisnacht. And this time, both girls are battered, power spent. No more Grief Seeds to clean their Soul Gems. Just lying in the rain waiting for the end. All Homura can do is joke about becoming monsters and mess up the world. Just keep destroying “until there’s no more evil, no more sadness, nothing left at all.” Aw, Homura.

“Let’s just break, break, break it all to dust..!”

To which Madoka- oh, you liar! You said you were out of Grief Seeds! You adorable little liar, you! Homura’s distraught, but Madoka says she wants Homura to do something that only she can do. She asks Homura to go back and save ‘Stupid Madoka’ from being tricked by the Incubator. Homura swears, she will save Madoka. No matter how many times it takes.

And then Madoka asks for one more thing.

…

Once again, Homura wakes up.

“No one will believe me about the future.”

Glasses off, burst of magic on eyes.

“No one will accept the truth about the future.”

Bows undone, hair let loose.

“Then, I…”

Homura has arrived.

Wait, no. Homura has walked up to Madoka’s room, warns her against accepting miracles while holding a dead Incubator body, and walks off.

Timestop again. “I won’t rely on anyone anymore! I don’t need anyone to understand me, either!” Homura appears to be grinding Grief Seeds with heavy weaponry. If she finishes every last Witch herself, then there won’t be anyone for Madoka to fight. And she will defeat Walpurgisnacht on her own.

Aw crap, it’s the Vision. We’re finally here. And although I’ve seen this before, now that I know the meaning, it’s heartbreaking to see Homura trying so hard, only for that little jerk Incubator to trick Madoka at the eleventh hour. And now we see and hear Homura, trying to warn Madoka to not listen to the Incubator…

“If she gives up, it’s over. But you have the power to change fate itself… All this inevitable destruction and tragedy… You can change it, if you want. The power to do so lies within you.”

“Can I really?”

“Don’t let him trick you! You’re falling right into his trap!!”

“Can I really do something to help? Could I really change this ending?”

“Of course you could. So make a Contract with me… and become a Magical Girl!”

“Nooooooo!!”

Later. The Incubator is remarking how amazing Madoka was when she transformed. It estimated that she would become the most powerful MG in the world, but to think she would take down Walpurgisnacht with a single shot…

So that’s how powerful Madoka the Protagonist can be. Able to destroy the thing that Homura has spent timeline after timeline fighting.

But as the strongest of all magical girls, she took down her greatest enemy, and then turned into the wickedest of all witches.

Ok, hold up. Witch-Madoka’s going to destroy the entire planet in 10 days? But- but-

“Oh, well. What happens next is mankind’s problem, not ours. We’ve got all the energy we need now. Our quota is almost met.”

*snap*

You hear that, kids?! That’s the sound of the Incubator reaching a whole new level of stupid! Congratulations, you little dick. I honestly thought you had reached your limit, but nope!

Wasn’t the whole point of all this to harvest humanity’s emergy to counteract entropy? That humans were the only emotional species, that fueled the rest of the universe? But when that fuel source gets wiped out, your only reaction is to smugly say that your quota is

almost

met?! Newsflash, Incubator: “almost” does not equal “100%”! You either have it or you don’t! And if you don’t, and your one fuel source gets wiped out, then you’ll never have it! You just lost! Game over, the universe is gonna end! And you’re so stupid that you think this is a victory! Argh!

Homura doesn’t even give the Incubator the time of day, just turns. The Incubator asks if she’s going to fight the new Super-Witch (because hey, if humanity is doomed, might as well snatch up any remaining Soul Gems, amirite?), but Homura’s got places to be. And finally, the Incubator catches on that Homura is a time traveler, just as she travels again.

“I’ll do it over. As many times as it takes, I’ll keep going back…”

We get an ever-so-satisfying shot of Homura blowing the Incubator up… only to see it run across the screen, unharmed. She gives chase, blasting away… and catches up just as a young pink-haired girl picks up the injured Rabbit-Thing. And from this angle, this time, we see the sadness in Homura’s face, watching her only friend protect the trickster. And the resolve, as she swears that she’ll stay in this time-looping maze forever if it’s for Madoka’s sake.

End credits. Or rather, the stereotypical intro sequence. With the addition of Kyoko and and Homura on the Radio Tower of Lies.

After-credits teaser, over a stylized picture of MG Madoka in the center, Homura lurking off to the side, and silhouettes of Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka in the corner:

“After all the time you spent watching over those girls… Do you really feel nothing for them at all? Did you never try to understand how much they were suffering?”

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm 10

1 note · View note