#LEITMOTIF BITCH (reference)

[cutter-kirby]

actually it's destroying me that the music playing when yorick calls john human is the same as when john called arthur human in part 26

[oathofkaslana]

[ID: An image of Albedo’s splash art next to Kaveh’s splash art. End ID.]

Quarterfinals: Albedo vs Kaveh

[redtailfins]

johnny cage is literally everything you could want in a pathetic guy character. he’s an a-list celebrity on his way to becoming washed up. in the old timeline he’s ambiguously divorced from an unknown ex wife and married(?) to a bad bitch named sonya BLADE. if my girl’s last name was blade i would change my last name so fast. in the new timeline he is loudly onscreen divorced in like the fourth cutscene and then starts a homoerotic relationship with a guy who broke into his house to reclaim an ancestral sword johnny bought for 3 million dollars. god takes him to train with monks and he doesn’t even make the tournament. when said guy gets blinded saving johnny’s life he uses a piece of his armour as a makeshift blindfold, leads him around like a guide dog, and gives back his ancestral sword while the yaoi leitmotif plays. he starts making psyop movies to get people used to the idea that other dimensions exist and credits god in all of them. all his fight intros involve him flipping the bird. one of his intro lines to kenshi is a silence of the lambs reference. he has an ass the size of two planets. his real name is john carlton

[dykeboltremade]

playing the Black Sabbath riff in the middle of Ramm4 was so fucking jarring compared to the entirety of Spiel Mit Mir being the Domination breakdown

[jacketpotatoo]

For the ask game;

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

14. Any favorite motifs

I would ask more but 5 is good for now 😊

4. Fav character/ subject that’s a bitch to draw

There are so many you have no idea. I would draw Vi so much more if I could and like, most of the other Arcane characters too because I just feel like I can’t do them justice. I still struggle more with drawing girls and long hair so that too. OH AND AMITY AND HUNTER. I can never get them right and it hurts my soul

5. Art online vs art kept to myself

There’s a good bit I don’t post/archive because I don’t feel like it’s good enough to post - especially on my main Instagram. A lot of sketches and doodles on random sheets of paper and practices in my sketchbook also never see the light of day. I do post some sketches I like though, especially on my ig stories. I post most finished stuff that I’m semi-proud of because I have no time to draw and can’t be picky so I’d say 65% give or take makes it online

6. Subconscious inspiration

Oo so many things honestly, mostly from my environment when I’m not even looking for it. Like the way the reflection in puddles after it rains is distorted reminds me of a piece with an alternate world. Or the way light filters through the windows and hits the ground and people around. I have a mental colour wheel almost where I just note down the colours of shadows and light and stuff to apply the next time I want to draw something

11. Do u listen to anything while drawing?

Almost always. Either songs on YouTube/Spotify or video essays on films, shows, or other random stuff. I’ve been listening to a lot of Hello Future Me and Broey Deschanel lately, their content is top tier if you like analysis videos. I’ve also been sketching in class so I guess my Psychology lectures lol

14. Favourite motifs

Unsure of what kind of motifs this refers to (like specific songs or films or leitmotifs or whatever) but the use of leitmotifs in the how to train your dragon soundtrack is just unparalleled and gives me a surge of inspiration like nothing else. Arcane also utilises motifs excellently (ex. the blue smoke, the bunny) but then again, they blow every aspect out of the water so it’s a given

[kraftykelpie]

Nightmare ("jedi don't have nightmares") about Shmi :( I know how this goes :'(

Why is he stanced like that 🧍🏻

"I have to help her" ah fuck Anakin oh no no she's not gonna make it baby

HOLY KRIFF OBIWAN hitting a descending Jango with a spin kick to the chest ?!

Aggressively keldabe kisses you "BESKAR BITCH"

Lol just noticed Jango's jetpack makes a PS2 mortal Kombat dong sound when it hits that structure

Why does he have knives in his vambraces? Is it a defense thing or does he regularly need to grab onto things to hold on

Hmm Vader Silhouette on the Lars homestead

I want a speeder bike Anakin is making that look fun - oh DUEL OF THE FATES TIME FUCK YEAH

Meanwhile on Geonosis: ominous hole you're in Obi-Wan

The subtitles are referring to Dooku as [Man #1] bitch I know who that is that Sir Christopher Lee put respect on it

Fucking Wat Tambor (seethes in Skako Minor arc)

Anakin: *in the voice of Starbuck from BSG* make a hole

"I'm so proud of you Ani" screaming crying throwing up

THAT DOES NOT MEAN KILL A WHOLE ENCAMPMENT OF PEOPLE IN REVENGE ANAKIN * imperial march theme plays quietly*

Anakin isn't where you told him to stay Obi-Wan.. he disobeyed you..again..

The first grave of the Lars homestead....

Anakin go to karking therapy I swear to... Padmé isn't your therapist man

"you're not all powerful"

"Well I should be! Someday, I will be the most powerful Jedi ever!" You're right, just not about the jedi part, more of a dar'jetti deal tbh

AHHH HHhH YIKES "I didn't just kill the men...I killed the women [the children, they're animals]" YIKES

Very not subtle imperial march leitmotif

"I made one mistake. This is devastating to me personally. I will make this everyone else's problem" -Anakin

Padmé: i have to do everything in this fucking house

Dooku could've ended the fucking war if he just said who the sith lord was and if Obi-Wan took him at his word. Dooku doesn't mince his words.

Want to kill JarJar so bad

"it's so hawd to be supweme chancewor uwu I love democwacy" killing you with my eyes

3po once again put in situations

Hunger games type entrance to the colosseum

Obi-Wan, clocking Padmé and Anakin: you've got to be fucking kidding

Padmé, once again: I have to do everything in thi-

Y'all know the meme of the cat with the knives to its' face? Yeah that's Jango

Why'd Jango spin his pistol like that, that was so unnecessary, are we showing off for Dooku

Jango isn't going to make it through the winter

Dooku, witnessing Jango be beheaded: oh shit didn't see that happening.. that's fucked

Boba: I'm going to remember this (will try to kill Mace in TCW)

Clones showing up: y'all call a cab?

Shinies are already dropping like flies...this trend will continue, but will devastate me everytime

Dooku on his little vespa: I think I might go for a biscotti and café au lait after this

Old man on old man violence (Yoda vs Dooku, also master vs apprentice turned Sith,, hrmm incheresting)

Thats it that's the film no more notes. If you read all that, sorry. Also thank you for reading?

Rewatching attack of the clones, thoughts so far:

I miss the clones (finished clone wars a week ago)

Karking Kaminoans I'm gonna shotput them by their kriffing necks (I just got past the main menu screen) for what they did to my boys (I still miss them, when will they come home from the war)

Padme's ship: shiny 10/10 magpie instincts going off the fucking charts, seriously wow it's so sleek that's like a luxury car of planes right there

Papsmear just started talking and I need him to shut tf up, I know what you are you hut'uunla shabuir, I'm so glad Anakin had the presence of mind to chuck your ass, look what you did to my boys

Padmé! *Pumps fist in air* BAIL!

Obi wan is so pretty it's unfair 😩 backlit like that in the lift...

[digital-analog-diary]

“OK Computer: Analogue Death, Digital Rebirth, and Radiohead’s Electronic Turn OK Computer marks an important volta or fin-de-siècle in Radiohead’s oeuvre. It is clear that the thematic leitmotif running throughout the album, influencing everything from Yorke’s lyrics, the sonic dynamism and experimentation on show, to the album’s artwork, is, in a word, denouement. This paper will explore the theme of denouement in relation to the album’s sonic, thematic, and aesthetic qualities. It will argue that the album’s title refers to the acquiescence, acceptance, and transition from more traditional analogue methods of making, recording, and distributing music adopted by the band up to and including The Bends (1995), and an inauguration of the band’s conscientious pursuit of radical digital experimentation to follow in Kid A (2000). In order to provide as holistic an analysis of the theme of denouement as possible, this paper’s analysis will be predicated on questions, concepts, and ideas including but not limited to the following: the leitmotif of denouement present in the thematic influences on the album, such as the influence of the track “Exit Music (For a Film)” commissioned by director Baz Luhrmann on the rest of the album; the influence of radical analogue experimentation culled from Miles Davis’ avant-garde jazz fusion album Bitches Brew (1970); the theme of resignation, interstice, liminality, and transference/-formation in relation to the “computer syndrome” as discussed in Michael Heffernan’s “Fin de Siècle, Fin du Monde?” (2000). The goal of this paper is to explore how OK Computer simultaneously represents Radiohead’s analogue death, digital rebirth, and embracing of the computer.”  -  Kwasu David Tembo, 2019.

[cardinalcamembert]

Descriptions of songs from Prequelle

So I found a french article with some pretty in depth descriptions of the new songs and made a rough translation in case anyone is interested.

I left out "Rats" because we've already fkn heard that one so... Translation notes in [ ]. I tried to stick as close to the original as possible, so some bits are weird.

“Ashes”: “The first glimpse of the medieval world illustrated on the cover. Children sing a tradional nursery rhyme from the time of the plague, comprising the familiar melody presented in “spöksonat” on Meliora. Partially inspired by the intro of “Black Celebration” by Depeche Mode.”

It’s an introductory title where one, indeed, hears children singing a nursery rhyme before the arrival of sombre guitar chords and a synthetic organ [the instrument, you filthy bastards] lead. One plunges immediately into the universe of ghost with this little call back to Meliora on piano, in the form of a “passage de témoin” [lit. supporting passage. Pretty sure it’s a bridge or some such]. “Faith”: “A beast, agitated and grating, with small touches of the neo-classical. The meeting of Tony Iommi and Shostakovich. Despite the devastating guitars, it still kicks off an enormous and exhilarating harmonious refrain!” Starting with a neo-classic-ish lead rhythm through punching drums. Followed by couplets of riffs, heavy and cutting. But it’s only to better clear the way and create contrast in a very melodic and ecstatic refrain. Ghost navigates, as usual, between the shadows and the light. A break that takes back the refrain in a “diabolical” way adds theatricality to the title. “See The Light”: “Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing (understand: a rock title disguised as a ballad). This is the “Unforgiven” of this album. A vibrant hymn for the oppressed.” Of a softness marked the couplets, with supple drums, as well as piano. Once again Ghost puts on the contrasts, as the refrain simultaneously imposes itself with full force, very luminous: the “drink me, eat me, then you see the light” chanting could not be more fitting as it is dressed in vocal harmonies - one imagines also a live distribution of wine and hosts [communion, bitches] to the spectators to back the lyrics. The break is here held up by a synthesizer lead, joined by the guitar in harmony. “Miasma”: “The first instrumental price of the album, wanting to illustrate a fog of pestilence sweeping the countryside. It’s reminiscent of the BO’s of Goblin, Vangelis and Queen [No idea what a BO is]. A melodic, triumphant theme that finally leaves room for a veritable ‘battery of solos’ culminating with the ultimate reward: sax!” It is effectively not one, but two instrumentals that the album has to offer, and this is the first. Lead by a piano lead and the harmonisations of guitar and bass, as the rhythmic guitar and the drums take care of setting up solid and intelligible foundations. After the middle bit, it goes wild and progressively gains in intensity to end with a succession of singing solos: guitar, piano and a rock saxophone, very “eighties”, in the manner of Sexy Sax Man! “Danse Macabre”: “Neon tubes, disco balls and sexy trousers. ‘Danse Macabre’ is the sound of your favourite hard rock group in 1978, being brave enough to compose a big, successful, disco number. Channelling Kiss, Boston, and Fleetwood Mac, the refrain is pure euphoria! Also, in the refrain, is he singing ‘be with you’ or ‘bewitch you’? Up to you to decide…” A big box that marks the time over a very hard rock riff, for a title that puts out all over the rhythmic and melodic drive [this whole sentence is a mess what are they even trying to say?]. One noticed the touches of glam in “Rats”, there they are not very obvious, we plunge this time directly into the start of the eighties with a refrain that is insistent and very dancing (an intersection like “I Was Made For Loving You” by Kiss and the first two albums from Bon Jovi), its vocal treatment, its solo, its rhythmic gimmicks… it’s all there to be believed. “Just wanna be, wanna be with you in the moonlight. Just wanna be, I wanna be with you all night…” “Pro Memoria”: “A cinematic point of view on mortality. The piece starts with a broad string passage and following puts itself in a groove that brings to mind Led Zeppelin’s ‘No Quarter’. Inspired by Elton John, GNR, The Doors, and The Boss…” The strings gives an immediate orchestral dimension (that one finds developing into a dreamlike finale), to tie together a delicate song, with a light wrinkle marking the time, the piano, the organ [INSTRUMENT]… Ghost brings us back to pop sounds that are a bit “flower power”, in the close spirit of “He Is”. The refrain imposes itself like a repeated leitmotif that wants to make sure the title progresses in a relatively linear way, sweet in melody, gloomy in it’s words: “Don’t you forget about dying, don’t you forget about your friend death, don’t you forget that you will die” (and the usual references to Lucifer). To finish in the choirs of a church at the bottom of the organ [instrument] “Witch Image”: “Written the morning of Tom Petty’s death (really!). Driven by a twisted AOR[wtf?] refrain and another harmonic guitar break that draws tears to the eyes” There is still some lightness and pain in this title, reinforced by the sound of a flute/mellotron and the vocal melody full of sensitivity. The guitars aren’t any less present, in discrete arpeggios on the couplets or electrics to give intensity to the refrains and at the solo part, but always entirely devoted to the melody. “Helvetesfönster”: “Literally translating to ‘Windows to Hell’. Inspired by the Nordic folk tradition with its Pink Floyd and Mike Oldfield elements. The piece is in a vice between two magnificent and desolated melodies. A kind of band sound for the Nordic lights” Second instrumental that drives us directly into the prog rock of the seventies. There is clearly some Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) in the feel of this piece with its more languid tempo, with its notable flute, its harmonic progressions, its endlessly evolving structure, with breaks for piano and synthesizer. One finds a folky lull as a finale, and generally a pretty cinematic side. One sees that if all the sung pieces by Ghost have used immediacy and simplicity with the goal of making powerful hits, it benefits from instrumentals to develop its creative passions. “Life Eternal”: ”The ultimate gothic love song - ‘Dracula’ filmed inside of a snowglobe. ‘Life Eternal’ is everything you love about power ballads distilled into a single song. ‘Dream on’ November Rain’ ‘Alone’, the many changes in tone and dynamic turn in a capsule of three minutes!” One finishes gracefully and delicately with this song that slowly gains in scale to take on the role of the albums cathartic finale (serving, in this regard, the same goal as “Monstrance Clock” on Infestissumam), in particular while featuring the repeated choir lyric “forever”, only until Tobias Forge concludes: “If you had life eternal…” Original is here: http://www.radiometal.com/article/ghost-dans-les-pas-du-cardinal,297391

[wildishmazz]

semi-coherent ramblings from the Starlight Express workshop tonight

[lunapaper]

Album Review: ‘ Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ - Lana Del Rey

There couldn’t be a better choice of inspiration for Lana Del Rey’s latest album than Norman fucking Rockwell.

Like the 20th Century era author and illustrator, the singer has always viewed the American dream with a rose-coloured lens, a naïve sentimentality that’s almost cloying at times with its hand-on-heart patriotism, its old-fashioned romance and beatific smiles.

Yet beneath those smiles, there’s always something cold, unsettling… something off.

Unlike Rockwell, there’s always been a crack in Del Rey’s own rose-coloured lens, one she’s happy to acknowledge, sometimes outright. Beneath the American Dream, there’s always lurked something dark and unseemly, now more noticeable than ever.

Of course, Del Rey’s latest American elegy retains all her usual leitmotifs: the colour blue, raging machismo, ride-or-die love, tragic beauty, retro fetishism, and pop culture references aplenty. But this time, she leaves behind the starry-eyed bohemia of 2017’s Lust For Life to retreat to the murky shores of California as ‘a modern woman with a weak constitution.’ 

The title track delivers quite a punch as she states: ‘You fucked me so good that I almost said "I love you,’ dedicated to a ‘goddamn manchild’ and ‘self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Canyon know-it-all’ – obvious Del Rey kryptonite - as her world is bathed in blue and a fluttering orchestral swoon.

She also reinvents herself as the ‘Venice Bitch’ with an almost 10-minute opus, emerging from the smoky haze with yet another self-defeating prophecy: ‘Fear fun, fear love/Fresh out of fucks forever.’ Evoking Leonard Cohen, The Shondells, Robert Frost, Hallmark and Rockwell again, Del Rey’s summer love is fleeting, desperately trying to cling on to whatever domestic bliss she can. But she concedes early: ‘Nothing gold can stay,’ echoed by an untamed psychedelic outro.

The 50s prom night waltz of ‘How To Disappear’ has Del Rey recall with a certain jadedness ‘John met me down on the boulevard/Cried on his shoulder 'cause life is hard/The waves came in over my head/What you been up to, my baby?,’ a long-lost memory wrapped up in picket-fence nostalgia, longing for working class masculinity to prick that upper-middle class bubble, while ‘Fuck It I Love You’ watches the world burn in its currently volatile state, retreating even deeper into nostalgia with a twilit acoustic glow.

‘Doin’ Time’ proves an inspired choice of cover as the singer gives the 1996 Sublime hit a dusky twist with love ‘on lockdown like a penitentiary.’ Highlight ‘Cinnamon Girl’ is simply a perfect mix of all Del Rey eras thus far: the sultry hip hop bravado of Born To Die, the hazy psychedelia of Lust For Life, the lush string arrangements of 2015’s Honeymoon, not to mention how the singer’s delicate, heartbreaking falsetto fills the atmosphere.

‘The Greatest,’ however, is the closest Del Rey comes to truly yearning for the American Dream in all its carefree nature and innocence (‘I miss New York and I miss the music/Me and my friends‚ we miss rock 'n' roll/I want shit to feel just like it used to/When‚ baby, I was doing nothin' the most of all’), a weathered torch song that name-checks David Bowie’s ‘Life On Mars,’ the late Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys and the present-day downfall of Kanye West.

‘hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it,’ meanwhile, has the singer channel her inner Sylvia Plath 24/7 ‘tearing around in my fucking nightgown,’ letting her jumbled thoughts loose atop a lone, stark piano melody, rejecting the mould of a perfect debutante ‘Smiling for miles in pink dresses and high heels on white yachts’ (Though arguably, she cultivated that image all herself early on in her career…)

The true crux of the record, however, lies with ‘Mariners Apartment Complex,’ which makes sly reference to her now infamous 2014 Guardian interview (‘You took my sadness out of context/At the Mariners Apartment Complex/I ain't no candle in the wind’). Delivering a blunt assessment of her sad aesthetic, her feminist stance and a reversal of relationship roles, it’s Del Rey at her most defiant  - ‘They mistook my kindness for weakness/I fucked up, I know that, but Jesus/Can't a girl just do the best she can?’ – and actually feels quite refreshing to see her break character, to actually give her writing some bite. 

Though not all tracks on Norman Fucking Rockwell! prove quite as memorable.

‘Love Song,’ though pleasant, is a pretty weak retread of Del Rey’s breakout hit ‘Video Games,’ and its schmaltzy tone just doesn’t fit with the record’s overall darkness. This all gets recycled once more on the dour ‘California,’ which is too obvious just by the title alone. ‘The Next Best American Record,’ on the other hand, feels like a parody of what detractors think goes into a Lana Del Rey track, right down to the laughable ‘cool as heck’ line.

Much like the American landscape, some things change but others stay the same. Sure, Del Rey rolls through the same old leitmotifs, a fog of nihilism always hovering over her, but it’s an art she’s beautifully perfected. With tongue firmly in cheek, Norman Fucking Rockwell! views America as a state of mind, a caricature, a dying love affair, an America the singer is apparently still looking for…

After the subtle optimism of Lust For Life, Norman Fucking Rockwell! can feel like a bit of a step down, a balmy, languorous sprawl that Del Rey both revels and deeply wallows in, though co-producer Jack Antonoff does keep true to her hazy, drugged-out noir pop.

So it’s rather unfortunate Del Rey was so defensive when it came to Ann Powers’ incredible dissection of Norman Fucking Rockwell! on NPR (Via Twitter: ‘Here’s a little sidenote on your piece – I don’t even relate to one observation you made about the music. There’s nothing uncooked about me. To write about me is nothing like it is to be with me. Never had a persona. Never needed one. Never will’). No matter how badly she feels she’s been treated, it’s still rather petty and childish of the singer to clap back at someone else’s interpretation of your work. I mean, how many times do I need to say it already:  That’s what you get when you release your work into the public domain. Criticism comes with the territory, and if you don’t like it then this is not the business for you.

And some nerve to deny you never had a persona, Lana. We know you have one, your fans know you’ve always had one, just fucking own it already. Don’t make excuses that you were ‘forced’ into it…

Even worse was the gross reaction from Del Rey stans, who told Powers to ‘retire please,’ referred to her a ‘rat,’ told her ‘delete it fat,’ ‘Just retire you old hag,’ ‘You need to buy some conditioner,’ ‘you had to be white’ (LANA IS WHITE TOO YOU FOOL) as well as called her a ‘fat whore.’ Remember, these are the same fans that claim the singer’s detractors are nothing but misogynists. ‘Cos apparently beggars can dish it out when it comes to other people’s looks and age. That’ll definitely get Powers to changer her mind, for sure. 

As good as might be to just ‘Catch a wave and take in the sweetness’ while listening to Norman Fucking Rockwell may be, it’s still prone to Del Rey’s usual flaws. It’s over-indulgent and sags in places, while some of the lyrics can be downright banal. I can’t totally buy into the hype. But at least she’s giving the stans exactly what they want…

- Bianca B.

[shenanigumi]

Some thoughts on Harada-hen

I’ll reserve final judgment for a more polished cut, like a DVD rip, but in the meantime…

Not that too many of you care at all, but it’s always easier for me to determine my opinion if I write it down! Throwing it under a read-more because length; sorry to any mobile users out there…

Re: our new actors –

New Chizuru (Isobe Karin): her voice isn’t quite my cup of tea, but she definitely hits the notes, and it’s ultimately just a stylistic difference so I’m ranking her a tentative tied-for-second with Fujikoso Yumi. She is very Chizuru-esque, after all—and props for drawing her sword once in awhile!!—but there’s simply no beating Tanoue Marina.

New Kodo (Kawamoto Hiroyuki): I really don’t have an opinion, other than Edogawa Manji was better and crazier. Although it’s worth noting that Kawamoto-san’s bald cap is on point, if he’s even wearing one.

New Saito (Naya Takeru): he does an awesome job for a newbie!! (Does anyone know whether he’s actually left-handed?) Honestly, he reads more like Saito than Hashimoto Shohei ever did to me, although of course not as much as Matsuda Ryo since we all know there’s no surpassing him.

New Nagakura (Fukuyama Shoudai): I know he was also in LIVE 2, but I resolved to wait until he played a more central role. I remain unimpressed by his singing, mostly because his voice is so gravelly I can’t really hear the tune. However, acting-wise, he’s spot-on, so I’m extremely happy about that.

New Heisuke (Kizu Tsubasa): likewise, I’ve been waiting for him to shine since LIVE 2. He’s not Ikeda Junya, but he’s cute, and he meshes well with the other two. Also, my big sister senses go off whenever any Heisuke at all drinks the Water of Life or gets emotional, so his non-Junyaness doesn’t stop me from tearing up at crucial moments.

New Sanan (Teruma): I know he was in Reimeiroku, but I only watched it once and had no idea what was going on. I personally think he does an amazing, if more than a little theatrical, job with the fury madness.

New Kazama (Sasaki Yoshihide): I will never not see Suzuki Shogo as canon!Kazama, which doesn’t help my impression of anyone else in the role. Sasaki-san carries the part fine and hits the notes he aims for, but it seems to me like he’s trying a little too hard to imitate Tsuda Kenji in his dialogue.

New Amagiri (Soutaro): …he’s good. I still prefer Gomoto Naoya, but Soutaro-san’s good. Like, he has major resting bitch face, which makes him seem a bit more menacing, but that’s fine considering the character.

Re: the soundtrack –

…I’m a little bit concerned about how quickly Higashi Keisuke seems to run out of breath. Not that it interfered with my enjoyment at all, just something I noticed.

It still kinda hurts in some cases to hear the new cast sing old songs, but they kept that to a merciful minimum (Sasaki Yoshihide singing the last part of “Orokamono Domo Yo” was objectively fine since he hit the notes but PLEASE DO NOT REMIND ME THAT SUZUKI SHOGO IS GONE). I loved the leitmotif-references though…

I really like Saito’s first, teeny-tiny song tbh

The “BEAUTIFUL DRUNKARDS” equivalent doesn’t sound quite upbeat enough to be a real party, but I can forgive it due to the adorable as fuck drunk ninja staggering around in the background, and also because Matsuda Gaku’s hips don’t lie. (Also my literal out-loud reaction to Harada taking off his mini-haori-whatever was “OH JESUS”.)

They brought back “Ano Hi no Chikai” AND ADDED SOME OF THAT SWEET HARMONY HELL YES. They’ve totally upped their harmonizing game since the reboot.

OH MY GOD SHIRANUI GETS A FUCKING SOLO THAT ISN’T A VERSE IN SOMEONE ELSE’S SONG. FINALLY. IT ONLY TOOK LITERALLY 10 MUSICALS JFC. Actually, make that two, counting the one close to the end. Also, is it me, or does he only ever sing about Takasugi? That’s a man in love if ever I’ve seen one (although I’m not sure I’ve seen one). I’m just gonna say Shiranui/Takasugi is motherfucking canon at this point. At the very least, it fits in flawlessly.

NEXT GEN “GIVE ME THE POWER” OH YEAH!!! Different Souji, different Saito, and I actually really like the way these two sound together, although Nayu-san’s voice isn’t as ‘strong’ a foundation for the duet/harmony as Hashimoto-san. Honestly, I was happy because it gave me something I could sing along to.

Sano and Shinpachi’s duet when they were dueling was actually awesome, mostly because of all that amazing harmony~

Re: complaints –

Most of my “but y tho” probably stems from a lack of subtitles and understanding of the Japanese language, so I won’t be mentioning too much of that since they’re minor issues anyway.

It’s usual for them to focus on Chizuru’s interactions with the guy whose route it is, but it still jars me a little that her only interaction after joining the Shinsengumi is with Harada even some time after Ikedaya. In fact, the pacing in general seems a little weird in this one, given that Heisuke and Saito barely even leave before they’re brought back—but of course, that’s certainly not to say this is the only musical with an ‘off’ pace. HakuMyu in general seems to be like that in most cases.

I… don’t understand why they had Yamazaki drink the Water of Life at Toba-Fushimi. Like, Harada’s musical is the definitive feel-good route, so why include something from The Darkest route/musical? You could just as easily have offed Yamazaki offstage, or otherwise had him die in passing, the same way he did in Toudou-hen…

I also don’t know why they decided to transition into the epilogue with Hijikata vs Kazama and a Yaisa! reprise. Like, typically that’s a final-battle interlude, not post-final-battle. Also, it’s completely irrelevant to Harada’s route. Although I’ll own that the Yamazaki-Kondou-Sanan dead-people trio was a nice touch.

Re: highlights –

…Okay, I’m never not gonna think Shiranui figuring out Chizuru is a demon first is the most hilarious thing ever. Like, he never even showed up at Ikedaya in the game, yet here he is going “what’s a demon like you doing in a place like this” in Kazama’s stead. Perfect.

NOT GONNA LIE, LIKE 90% OF WHY I WATCHED THIS MUSICAL IS BECAUSE SHIRANUI IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. I WILL NEVER, EVER, GET TIRED OF HIS LAUGHTER AND HIS LITTLE “EH?” AND “HUH?” NOISES AND OH MY GOD. ALSO ONE OF HIS R’S ROLLED AND I THINK I MAY HAVE DIED A LITTLE. I’M MAKING A NOISE LIKE A TRAIN WHISTLE. I JUST. WOW WHAT A CUTIE

It’s kind of a small thing, but I love how subtly Okita’s tuberculosis is introduced. A cough-laugh, then a coughing fit, both quickly cut off by other events, and finally the revelation. Nicely done for a musical that doesn’t focus on him.

I also appreciate how not-prude and curious Chizuru is shown to be from the beginning. Any Chizuru who participates in a drinking song without being coerced, and even carries a sake cup of her own instead of just pouring others’, is 100% fine by me.

I’m in absolute fucking love with how they handle Shiranui’s interactions with Chizuru. Just the right mix of antagonism and playfulness.

OH MY GOD HARADA HAS TO BEND PRACTICALLY FUCKING DOUBLE TO KISS CHIZURU. THIS IS ADORABLE

Speaking of adorable, Nagakura’s confusion during the “we’re leaving the Shinsengumi” scene is priceless. I have no idea what’s happening, but it’s really fucking cute.

It’s kinda nice to see where Kazama’s loyalties really lie on Harada’s route, since we never see that in-game. Like, Shiranui thinks he’s on Kodo’s side, so that colors our perception, but… evidently not. Of course, it could just be that they’re apparently integrating Sanan’s treachery into Harada’s route too, but…

HOLY SHIT THE EMOTION IN OKITA’S VOICE WHEN HE CONFRONTS HIJIKATA AFTER KONDOU’S DEATH. It takes a lot of skill to make me tear up at a scene I’ve seen acted out like 50,000 times before in the previous installments of HakuMyu. You can really see the 8-year-old Souji shining through. AND THEN THAT PUNCH OUT OF NOWHERE!! ON POINT.

Edit: Oh I guess I should spare a mention for the fact that The Scene actually happened, yup. Not that I’m not happy with what foreplay we were given, since I thought for sure they’d just shove it offstage, but it was so… stationary? Although letting Chizuru top before the fadeout was definitely a nice touch.

I am a-ok with Kazama offing Sanan tbfh although it did leave the non-Junya cinnamon roll an orphan of sorts. Also Hijikata as mama bear is the best thing. Honestly, I really like the interpersonal dynamics between members of the Shinsengumi as they’re portrayed here.

GOOD JOB STABBING YOUR EVIL FATHER CHIZURU!!!!!!!! That’s more than any other Chizuru ever did, even Heisuke’s spunky gal~

CURTAIN CALL MOMENTS: Kazama and Hijikata doing the nightclub two-step and staring into one another’s eyes; the extras jumping around and high-fiving one another and one of them spinning Souji around; some confrontation between Harada and an extra over Chizuru; Shiranui getting really emotional about having been around since the beginning (AW POOR BABY WITH THE BROKEN VOICE); Harada having moments with both Shiranui and Chizuru (I’m beginning to form a polyamorous OT3)